The Star Spangled Man With A Plan
by Who Let This Guy On
Summary: "I don't want to kill anyone. I don't like bullies; I don't care where they're from." -Steve Rogers. A man out of time, thrown into a strange new world does what he does best. Stands up to bullies and protect those who can't protect themselves. Or how a single man at the right place and the right time can save an entire nation.
1. Chapter 1

**THE FOLLOWING IS A FAN BASED PARODY.**

 **I OWN NOTHING ABOUT EITHER OF THESE PROPERTIES.**

 **THEY ARE BOTH OWNED BY THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.**

 **PLEASE SUPPORT THE OFFICIAL RELEASE.**

* * *

The land of Eostia was once a peaceful kingdom, blessed with both natural beauty and an abundance of resources for those who called the land their home. But after hundreds of years of military skirmishes between the race of humans and the dark elves of the north, the land is once again thrown into the turmoils of full-blown war.

In a sickening display of treachery, the leader of the Kuroinu mercenary company, once regarded as heroes for many, a man who was known throughout the county simply as Vault, renounced his decade's long contract with the High Queen of the elves and declared war upon the whole of Eostia. He declared the beginnings of his so-called Country, by enslaving and subjugating every woman alive into nothing more than sexual playthings for the hungry horde of rapists and killers who followed him. His first act of forming his Kuroinu Sex Empire was to take over the Black Fortress, the home of the High Queen of the Dark Elves, Olga Discordia. As his monstrous army spread throughout the lands, raping, burning, and killing anyone or anything who stood in their way, only the Seven Shield Alliance led by Celestine Lucross, the Goddess reborn, could hope to stand against him.

Battle lines were drawn and alliances were made as Olga Discordia and her loyal retainer, the half-elf Chloe, made good on their escape from her besieged kingdom of Garan and made their way to the Fortress City of Ken where her greatest rival, Celestine, awaited.

It was on that day that an uneasy alliance was made between the Dark Elves and the Seven Shields, for they held a common enemy in the Kuroinu. The newly made alliance quickly began mustering its troops and gathering materials for the war effort that would affect the lives of every man, woman, and child who called Eostia home. If they fell, then there would be nothing and no one to stop the hordes of Vault from plunging the land of Eostia into the dark times of debauchery and horror.

* * *

-Layna P.O.V -

It had been a month since the war with the Kuroinu had started when the sky became filled with hundreds of little red falling-stars. Visible even through the normal rainfall that covered the area for the past few days. The fire had covered the skies as far as the eye could see and some of the fireballs had even fallen down not many miles from her home. A traveler passing through showed her a piece of the strange metal, flat and melted yet clearly there were colors still painted on. Hundreds of similar pieces had fallen throughout the land, into forests and fields and even castles as far as Ken, or so the man had said. Most of them were smaller than his, a few were of the same size, and he had seen one as large as a man's head being carried around by a farmer to the north. Some of the landings could be heard and felt from far away, though the storm had made it almost impossible to do so near her families Inn.

For many, the strange occurrence had been a welcome distraction to the feeling of fear and helplessness that strangled the countryside since the war started. Even if it was only a short while, the news of villages being raided and destroyed over-night seemed, seemed to leave her and her families minds as they watched the sky burn in beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow.

The morning after, the burning sky seemed to be the only thing anyone was talking about. Some believed it was a bad omen, a sign of victory for the black dogs and a clear sign that peace was over. So wrapped up in their gossip and talk of evil omens, no one noticed a lone traveler wander into the villages lone inn around mid-morning. Lyanna didn't even take notice until her mother made her take him a morning meal an hour after he settled in.

He was a very large man, and while Layna had never learned to count heights, He towered over most men in the village and took nearly a head taller than her own father. Half again as large as herself, that was for sure, and wider around the shoulders than any man she had ever met by a fair margin.

He was also the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life. Sure, she didn't the most experience, but from the way the other women of the village, single and married both, spoke about him in hushed tones or stared at him dreamily on the rare occasions he left the inn, it was assumed they found him as comely as she did. Like a knight out of a fairy tale.

She even caught her own mother staring at him a few times!

He had paid well too, far too well in fact. An entire Silver piece for a simple room and two meals a day for the three days he stayed. Her parents took the silver without complaint, as travel between villages have dwindled after the outbreak of the war to the point where almost a fortnight would pass before a single room in the inn was filled.

A Silver Sovereign was more than her family made in an entire month, even back before the war when they were bursting at the seams with customers. A single man providing it for the bare minimum of goods seemed to be a godsend to the poor family.

She had been taught to not take from strangers, nor lie to any man, nor con any customer. Her mother had said so many times to her in her youth, and Ms. Robin at school was keen to remind her as well. To take such a sum of money was wrong, despite the situation her family found themselves in. This man, clearly a foreigner to their land could not know the value of its currency and to take advantage of his ignorance was not the right thing to do. Father might be a bit displeased, but he would forgive her. Hopefully...

She entered the man's rented room to deliver his morning meal, three eggs cooked over easy and bacon fried crispy served with toasted bread and a mug of boiled water, the same meal prepared for him every morning since his arrival. Today, however, would the first time since his arrival she had spoken a word to the mysterious stranger.

"Sir? here is your coin, we cannot take it. It is too much, I cannot in good faith take this and pretend to give you your worth of food. Do you have a lesser coin, a few copper or steel ones perhaps?"

The man looked at her for an instant, and she immediately became mesmerized the second she saw his eyes. Blue as the sky and more intense than the sun, this man had the look of someone who had seen many things. People like those visited her family's work every so often, telling stories that might or might not be true. But his eyes seemed to radiate kindness like no other man she had ever met. A strength both in character and body that few men could hope to match.

"Take it. you need it more than I do" The voice was deep and filled with both confidence and strength, the sort of voice that made many a girl blush. At least she hoped so because she felt her own cheeks grow warm and her shoulders rise forward. Turning around to let the man enjoy his food and avoid further embarrassment, Layna walked past her father and back into the kitchen trying to slow the beating of her heart.

The day continued on like all the others, Lyana finished her chores and helped her mother cook dinner for their family and one guest. All the while asking any question that seemed to enter her head about the stranger.

 _"What man refuses Ale and mead and only drinks boiled water? "She heard her father ask._

 _"A man who can afford to be as acentric as he pleases" her mother responded._

 _"Do you think the White star on his chest is a sigil of a noble family?" Lyana asked._

 _"If it is, he not like any noble I have ever heard of" her mother answered._

 _"Do you think he's a knight?" Lyana asked_

 _"What kind of knight carries only a shield and no sword" her father responded._

 _"How long do you think he'll stay," Lyana asked_

 _"If he keeps paying us like he does, as long as he wants" her father laughed_

Then it happened.

It was the middle of the night, most in the sleepy village had long since retired to their beds, but Lyana found it difficult to sleep. The sound of heavy rainfall keeping her up into the wee hours of the night. When the screaming started, Lyana assumed it was her imagination, it wasn't until she heard the clashing of steel when she looked at the window.

Dozens of orcs and dozens of more men stormed the village gates killing anyone and anything that crossed their path. She could see some men drag the bakers' wife behind a building, while an orc crushed the butcher's eldest son to death with its bare hands. Some of the village men were trying to defend themselves and fight back but they were caught unprepared and were out-numbered and outmatched by the professional mercenaries.

She ran to wake her parents, but she was too late to warn them of the horror that had befallen their home, as the front door to the inn was forced open and an assortment of the vilest men Lyana had ever seen entered, led by the largest orc of the war party.

The orc was a giant in black armor and green cloth, and beside him sat a dozen men clad much the same way. Shields and shirts embroidered with the head of a snarling black dog and sword on a crimson field, and all were covered in varying bits of armor. The leader wore full plate, as massive and intimidating as he was, and the rest had a strange assortment of plate, mail, and leather.

One of the brutes held Lyana'ors mother by her neck as a rat-faced man ripped her blouse, two more men held her father down and forced him to watch as they manhandled his wife of near 20 years. Before Lyana could even move her path was blocked by a man who looked older than her father with skin like old leather.

"well look at what we have here boys," the man said with a voice like sandpaper as he pawed at her body." a fresh flower not even plucked yet, and here I thought we 'd all have to take turns with the old cow,"

The men laughed "looks like we got ourselves some mother-daughter action!" Before throwing her into the waiting arms of the orc, whose breath and odor reminded Lyana of spoiled food and manure. She could feel his breath on her body, caking her with filth as her body froze up in fear.

Before however, they could go any further with their assault, their attention was shifted when the sound of footsteps came from the stairs. It seemed the noise of the attacking war party had caused the inn's lone occupant to leave the relative safety of his room, for what purpose Lyanna couldn't be sure. He was staring at the black dogs as if challenging them to fight. The orc let her go, and with the mercenaries turned towards the stranger. There was a rage in the orcs black eyes, but also a strange look of satisfied madness. He wanted to fight and to kill, it was clear for all to see. One by one they all drew their weapons, a collection of ugly looking things, as they stared at the interloper.

"Looks like we have ourselves a hero here," one of them said, an older man the others had called Ramsay. "Perhaps you would like to save the fair maiden here for yourself. We can't have any o that nonsense no, and I bet you'd fight better angry too. Might last for more than a moment against us then."

Advancing on her, he drew a rusting dagger, and Layna saw her whole life flashing before her eyes as he raised his now armed hand above her. Father screamed at the leather-clad mercenary to stop, and her mother struggled to escape the men's grip on her but to no avail. She was going to die, having seen only thirteen years, never having kissed, married, seen a city, had chil-

Church bells.

Or so it sounded to Lyana's ears as a massive shield smashed against her assailants head, shattering his skull and helmet both, throwing him across the room like a rag doll and with enough force to shatter the wall that was behind him.

"Wrong move."

A whirling sound caught her attention and too fast for Layna to see clearly how he had done it, but by some magic, the shield was returned to its owner, like it had a mind of its own. He stood tall, his face was a mask of determination but his eyes were filled with such anger and disgust, causing every man in the room save the black-armored giant to take a step away. The Orc growled and tensed, before he charged at the blue-clothed challenger, intending to rip the human in front of him limb from limb.

To the shock of everyone present, the man met the massive orc halfway, leaping above the monsters head and landing behind the bewildered beasts with the grace of a cat. He swung his shield low towards the orc's knee, with enough force to create a sickening snap from the sound of shattering leg bones. Unable to support its weight with one leg, the orc crumbled to the floor, wailing like a wounded animal in pain like so many of its previous victims.

THUNG

The sound of a church bell once again filled Lyana's ears as the strange shield connected to the skull of the orc, hitting the massive beast with enough force to catapult its now lifeless body towards the group of stunned mercenaries, silencing its wails once and for all, before its wielder turned to the remaining mercenaries. Layna could not believe what she had seen, he had moved far too fast for someone that big, and he processed strength that no normal man had, and by the looks of both her parents, they seemed to match both her awe as well as her shock.

His eyes searched the room, sizing up his frightened opponents, instantly many of them took a step back, those who were overwhelmed by fear simply stood still, at the least two of whom had visibly pissed themselves.

"So. Which one of you men are next?" Steve Rogers spoke, and with that, the course of the Kuroinu rebellion was changed and history of Eostia would never be the same .

* * *

dun, dun,duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun


	2. Chapter 2

-Maia's P.O.V-

Maia polished her swords with a solemn look on her face and she looked across the large ornate table of Lady Celestine private sanctuary. The meeting between the members of the seven shield alliance as well as their new dark elf allies were set to begin almost an hour ago, but still, key members of the war council had yet to arrive.

Lady Claudia Levantain, Lord commander of the holy templar knights sat patiently looking over field reports of the ongoing conflict. Occasionally she would scribble down a few terse messages on a piece of parchment, before returning her attention back to the literal pile of field reports in front of her. It seemed years of knightly training and discipline shielded her from the wave of annoyance and boredom her fellow princess knights were facing.

Lady Kaguya, Head shrine maiden of the eastern temple, stood conversing with several of her sister shrine maidens near the balcony of the room, while the younger sisters looked nervous and unsure, Kaguya remained as calm and as tranquil as a still pond as she listened intently to her fellow shrine maiden's concerns.

Alicia Arcturus, the Princess Knight of Iris and only daughter of king Eos of Feoh was not controlling herself as well as her companions. Pacing back in forth in aggravation, several times Alicia had to be stopped from leaving, declaring that every second wasted waiting for the war council to begin was another second her kingdom was endangered. Not that Maia blamed the hot-tempered blonde, with the increase in raids and attacks against her lands by Vaults forces, the young woman was pushed to her limits trying to protect her people. Unfortunately for all those present, Lady Prima Fiorire, Alicia's younger cousin and fellow princess knight was not at her side to curb her more biting remarks and temper.

Luu-Luu on the other hand...

"Where is she?, Where is she?, Where is she?, Where is she?, WHERE IS SHE?" The half-ling spoke in a volume one wouldn't expect could come from such a tiny body like hers, as she made her frustrations known sitting in her chair, swinging her tiny legs back and forth.

"Now Luu-Luu," Claudia chided, like a mother disciplining a disobedient child," I'm sure whatever reason Lady Celestine has for her lateness will be explained, but we must be patient"

"I'm tired of being patient through" the half-ling pouted, causing Maia to bite back a laugh. Patience was never a word in the small inventor's vocabulary, especially when she was forced to stay in one place for more than a couple of minutes. Before Claudia could respond the large double doors of the sanctuary opened to reveal the figures of the missing members of their council.

Lady Celestine, the goddess reborn and high queen of Ken, and the dark elf Queen, Olga Discordia walked into the room in near perfect sync with one another. Behind the two elven monarchs, a few steps walked Queen Olga's loyal attendant, the dark elf Chloe, carrying several documents that Maia suspected was the reason for the delay.

"It's good that you decided to join us lady Celestine," the self-proclaimed mercenary queen joked," and here I thought goddesses didn't need to worry about beauty rest"

Luckily the high elf took the barb as it was intended, and an embarrassed smile crossed her face "I apologize for our tardiness, but Lady Olga and I were needed for urgent business. A business that may come to affect the whole of the country." The words were enough to gather all the rooms occupants together at the table and to place their attention on the leaders of the alliance.

"We have just received reports that the village of White Mill, located near the northernmost borders of Feoh was attacked by a force of nearly 1,000 men several hours ago." The dark elf queen spoke with a detachment in her voice that got under Maia's skin.

"What!?" Alicia spoke, rising from her seat in shock, "How can this be? The latest reports from Reoh have no mention of any war party of that size operating in the area"

"it seems the good prime minister is as incompetent with Warcraft as he is with diplomacy, perhaps it would be best to remove the man from his post?" Claudia spoke from her seat, clearly as much a fan of the elder statesmen Beasley as everyone else in the room.

"The man's incompetence borders on treason, but the man's failure at his responsibilities is not what is a concern at the moment," Kaguya said.

"Of course," Alicia said, already turning her attention towards the mission at hand. "We must muster a host of equal number at the least to combat these dogs, if we move quickly we may catch them before-"

"That will not be necessary," Lady Celestine said, cutting off the blonde knight mid-sentence.

"Huh" the reactions were the same throughout the room, in any other situation Maia would have laughed at the confused open mouth stare Kaguya wore on her face but decided against it since she must have worn a similar expression on her own face.

"Wh-what do you mean?"Alicia's voice broke the tension as she asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "We cannot allow a force of that size to march on settlements without retribution."

"And I agree, But as I said before, it will not be necessary. The attacking force was soundly defeated outside the gates of the village and the remnants of the host are in full retreat."

The awkward silence startled Maia in a way she didn't expect. The Kuroinu mercenary company was the largest army of sellswords on the continent, and some of the best-trained soldier's money could buy. She would know, she fought beside them for years as one of Vaults lieutenants before branching out and forming her own company, the Erinye Company. The men of the Kuroinu may be honor-less bastards but they were smart, they were skilled, and they were dangerous. Able to decimate hordes of orcs and monsters and defeat armies twice their number in open conflict through sheer skill and grit. And they failed to conquer a village with less than one hundred people living in it.

" _Yep,"_ Maia thought to herself dully _"Know I've heard everything"_

The look on Lady Claudia's face showed she held similar thoughts." How could a single village muster enough manpower to defend themselves from an attack, let alone win the battle?"

"How do we know such a battle even took place," the shrine maiden asked.

Both the high and dark elf turned to the Miko, but it was Celestine who spoke," Lady Olga and I have used the magic at our disposal to see the validity of these reports. While scrying has never been my strongest skill, Lady Olga is considered quite the authority in that school of magic."

The dark elf spoke with the same air of unattachment as before but there was a lingering sense of curiosity as well approval under her words "I have seen the bodies, of the dead and of the imprisoned. It seems like the dogs have suffered their first colossal failure of this war"

"I still don't understand," Alicia spoke "It just seems too hard to believe, how do we know this isn't a trap? A way to lull us into a false sense of security?"

"Yeah!" Luu-Luu responded, "this could be a trick by vault to confuse us!"

"No," Maia spoke, seemingly the only one of who took the news at face value. " There's no way Vault would willingly lie about something like this even if it's to set a trap."

"And how,"Alicia asked, disbelief radiating off of her eyes with each passing word" Do you know that?"

Maia sighed to herself, as she remembered her days as a black dog mercenary, and the close relationship she had with its leader. "I know Vault better than anyone here, I've marched with him, I drank with him, I've fought with him, and I've killed with him."

She paused of a moment biting back the painful memories that flooded her mind, as well as the lingering feelings she still had for the man who had become the most dangerous enemy the unified kingdoms have ever faced.

"Vault is only proud of three things in life" she continued, "and all of them are tied to how he wants others to view him. His skills with a sword, his skills with women, and his skills at leading an army. His ego won't allow anyone to say a bad word about his prowess as a fighter, a lover, or his leadership"

The other women were quiet for a moment as they processed Maia's words, surprisingly it was the dark queen herself who broke the silence.

"So, the army is Vault's, what do you humans call it?" she said as she turned to look straight at Maia," His Great big swinging dick? and Vault wouldn't allow any falsehood spread about his army because he sees them as an extension of his own ego?"

"Yeah, something like that." Maia said, sheathing her newly polished blades back to her belt." Any attack against his army is an attack against his manhood, and that's the one thing Vault can't stand."

The high elf nodded her head at the mercenary's words before addressing the group at large. "The message also requested an armed escort to Feoh for the prisoners. It seems the writer of this message wishes for the men to pay for their crimes and for justice to be served."

"I Volunteer," Alica spoke, "These men threatened my lands and my people, I am duty bound to see they are punished for their crimes."

"Splendid" lady Celestine answered, "Lady Alicia and her honored knights will make up the bulk of the escort," The high elf then her attention turned to the mercenary queen of Ansur. "Lady Maia?"

"Yes your grace" Maia said, sounding much more sure of herself then she did previously.

"I would like for you and your mercenaries to accompany Alicia and her knights, your knowledge would be invaluable if any of the survivors have any information of Vaults plans"

"Of course, your ladyship can consider it done" she answered before turning her attention toward the Queens attendant. She had yet to say anything since walking in with her queen, which was rather strange for the opinionated elf, whose sarcastic wit could be as sharp as a knife when she wanted. She had simply stood behind her queen, eyes firmly set on the paper in her hands rereading it for untold times.

"How many prisoners should we expect to find?" Maia asked, seeing how many of her mercenaries were needed for the mission.

"Several dozen, it seems while some managed to flee the battle after it proved to be a loss, most perished in the fighting" the dark elf Chloe spoke, reading directly from the previously mentioned parchment.

"When we arrive who should we speak too? Who's in charge of the village?" Alica said to the dark elf, in a tone of voice that the dark queens attendant didn't appreciate. Even a month after the two factions put their differences aside to deal with a common enemy, members on both sides, seemed to be at each other's throats for any reason they could find. This couldn't be truer for the two women in front of Maia now, who could find fault in almost everything the other did or said.

"If I had to guess, the man who wrote the message seemed to be in charge," Chloe said in a tone of voice one would use if talking to a child, as she handed Maia the slip of parchment, completely bypassing the blonde princess knight to do so.

Ignoring the two young blonde women as they continued their rather undignified antics in front of their respective monarchs, Maia read over the parchment in front of her with interest.

 _Hmmm... Steve Rogers huh?_

* * *

-Hick's P.O.V-

His mount trod uneasily on the muddy ground, the strain of keeping its feet palpable as its hooves slid on the wet uneven surface.

Biting back a curse the rider urged his horse on, ignoring his mounts brays of protest. Gripping the reins tightly he forced the animal to obey his commands and make its way up the steep earthy bank. Mud sprayed onto his face as the horse proceeded to climb, its strong legs and feet churning the dirt and throwing into the air around him, hitting his arms and chest.

The rider felt his face set with determination as he pushed the horse on. With a mighty heave, the animal crested the ridge. He allowed the beast to rest for a moment as its breath came in ragged gasps. The rider patted the animal's flanks as he looked about him. They were now on the flat open ground with the expanse of the of the northern plains as far as the eyes could see. He urged his horse forward once more.

"Hicks?!" A cry came up from the rear.

The Kuroinu commander turned his head to regard one of his remaining commanders left who had ridden up behind him. The man's clothing was filthy, covered in dirt and blood from the battle and their subsequent retreat.

Vylarr was the bastard son of a whore and a minor noble from Ken who had enough pull within the government to not only get his son a commission in a private army but to erase the "incidents" that made Ken to dangerous for young Vylarr to stay for much longer. You would know this within five minutes of meeting the man because the only time he stopped speaking about his noble blood or how he was going to get what was his was when he was sleeping or too drunk to even fuck a woman.

 _At least he's not talking about that_ half-sister _he's got in Ken..._

"Make it quick." He said by way of greeting to the soldier.

The man looked downcast before his leaders penetrating gaze. His eyes flitted towards the ground before rising to look at his commander. He licked his lips nervously.

"Hicks, the men are exhausted. We have been riding nonstop throughout the night. Might we not take rest for a moment?"

Hicks didn't immediately reply. He looked over the man's shoulder to see the first line of soldiers coming over the rise and following in his wake. Each and every one of those fortunate enough to escape mirrored the man before him. Bloodied, bruised, broken, shuffling forward to the best of their abilities despite the wounds to both their bodies and pride.

 _"Not that I can blame them,"_ Hicks thought with anger _, "we were pushed back and embarrassed by farmers with pitchforks and stolen weapons"_

"I need to report to Lord Vault as soon as possible, besides I don't like being out in the open like this, we're sitting ducks."

The captain nodded in agreement but "But..." but paused when Hicks stare deepened, for a moment the conversation stopped before the man pressed on, "The horses are close to collapse. If we go much further they are going to die on us. We could just let them rest for a moment and then continue on."

Hicks glanced at the man's face. The soldier looked beyond weary, fatigue seemed to have taken hold of every part of his body. A further glance towards his small group of men showed the same tiredness.

 _So few, there can't be anymore more than thirty or so men left._

The thought sent a surge of anger through him. _I left the encampment with almost one thousand men, now I have a few dozen with me. An entire fucking army has been reduced to the size of a foraging party._ He looked over the group of men _. All because of one damn man._

Hicks was put in charge of the encampment by Vault himself, to help control the region outside Feoh before the army marched on the city itself. So "control" Hicks did, he raped, he killed, he pillaged, and he burned to his heart's content all the while receiving messages from allies in Feoh, notably the prime minister of Feoh himself, High Lord Beasley. The old man had given him any information he needed in order to terrorize the countryside, everything from the cities manpower to its patrol movements, to even secret passages in and out of the city.

For three weeks he controlled this entire valley while that blonde bitch played knight with her whore guards trying to catch him, much too focused on the enemies outside her gates and too naive to even assume she had enemies in her own city. When Vault gave the word, the city would be theirs and everything and everyone within its walls would be there's to use as they pleased, and Hicks couldn't wait to rape that smug look off of Alicia Arcturas face.

 _Then that damn war party vanished five days ago and everything went to hell._

A raiding party not reporting back when they should have wasn't unheard of, especially when his men found themselves "distracted" with the female locals. But when a second war party vanishes after being sent to check on the first? Either that village had some grade A ass or they ran into something that didn't appreciate them being there. By the time Hicks realized what was happening nearly 80 men were missing.

So Hicks did the logical thing, he took half of the men under his command and personally charged towards whoever was killing his raiders to show them what happens to those who fuck with the kuroinu.

 _"Should've matched us off a cliff"_ he thought bitterly to himself " _would have had the same effect and I could have at least stayed in bed."_

He looked again at Vylarr to find the man looking expectantly at him. Hicks examined the land ahead. Off, way in the distance, he could see the faint outline of the White River, Which meant they were still several hours away from the encampment, Which meant it would be dark before he even had a chance to send a message off to Vault at the black fortress about...whatever that man was

 _Whats a few moments of rest going to do?_

Hicks turned to the captain of his guard. "We will be at the white river's edge in the next hour or so. We'll rest there, but if we don't get to camp by nightfall we're all dead men".

He waved the man off before spurring his horse forward, eager to get to their destination as soon as possible. _I have no interest in spending another god forsaken night in the saddle._ As he rode Hicks glanced down at his hand, pulling back the damaged leather of his glove and scrutinizing the wound he had taken the day before.

 _The bleeding stopped at least even if it feels like my whole hand is on fire. Still, it could have been worse, That big bastard might have torn his whole arm off if he had the time. The next time that man is in front of me, I'm going to drive a sword through his perfect face._

As the group neared the river bank, Morgo, the lone surviving orc from their war party collapsed from both exhaustion and blood loss, giving no-indication, he would ever rise again. The once proud Orc chief had been the victor of a dozen battles, the slayer of a hundred men, and the defiler of a thousand women. Seeing such a proud specimen beaten into submission after watching his entire clan meet their deaths at the hand of their prey was a hard fact to swallow, the fact that most of them met their deaths at the hands of the same man made it worse.

His other men weren't much better, many dropped to their knees the second they reached the riverbanks, some had the dignity not to fall flat on their faces from weariness but they were the minority.

Hicks himself almost fell off his own horse but he managed to land on his feet with effort as he trudged himself towards the water, cleaning the blood and gore off his hands and bare chest gingerly, avoiding his sore and broken ribs _._

 _Gonna need to break in at least two of those bitches we stole from that fishing village to get over the shit show we're in. Hell, the older one might do all the work if I can convince her I won't touch her little sister if she does what I say._

"Vylarr" Hicks barked, getting his subordinate's attention," Get over here and wash some of the guts off my horse, if I'm gonna be stuck riding for another half day, I'm sure as shit not gonna do it smelling more blood then I have to.

The captain scurried forward with the horse behind him. He opened his mouth to reply to his superior's command-

Before a crossbow bolt tore through the man's check and burst through the other side of his head. For a grotesque moment, the man stood staring in shock and disbelief as parts of his ruined face fell in pieces to the ground and then he pitched forward wordlessly to the floor, losing his grip on the reins Hick's stallion as he did so.

Hicks' head snapped around as suddenly mounted men appeared on both sides of his group. Green boys, farmers, untrained peasants wearing armor stolen from his own men circled what remained of his fighting force, crossbows and bows at the ready. No one dared to move, either too tired and beaten down or too fearful for their lives.

The husbands, sons, brothers, and fathers of the women who the Kuroinu threatened with enslavement and a lifetime of rape and torture held the kuroinu at their mercy, like meek little sheep catching a wolf by surprise and holding it at knifepoint. Hicks grimaced, as he moved to grab one of his sheathed daggers, fully intending to take as many of these worthless weaklings out as possible before one of them could fire single a shot at him.

THUNG

Searing pain enveloped his entire body as Hicks crumpled to the ground, the lower half of his body feeling like it was shattered into hundreds of pieces. He landed hard on his back sapping the air from his lungs as his body fought desperately for breath. With each pained inhale, blood and bile were exhaled as his body twitched in the mud. From his downed position, Hicks could see the outline of the man who had been the cause of his rapid downfall.

"I wouldn't get up if I were you," the big man said, grabbing the enchanted shield as it flew over his head "It took a while to convince these men not to kill you outright, I don't know if they'll listen to me if you start waving those blades around"

He walked towards hicks, the boys, and farmers who followed him parting to make a clear path for him. Despite being the only man not riding a horse, the blue-clothed warrior seemed to tower over every man present.

"Men?" Hicks spat, like the word was distasteful to his lips, "These aren't men, they're sheep. Weak little cowards who only fight when they have someone to follow. If you weren't here, they'd be cowering in their homes while REAL MEN" Hicks raised his voice, clearly indicating himself and his comrades, alive or otherwise, "Took what we wanted."

"Well I am here" the man's voice was like steel, unbending and unrelenting. "So what does that mean for men like you?" Even if Hicks didn't see the man in front of him beat orcs to death with his bare hands, he would know a man with that kind of steel in his voice was not the type of man to anger.

"You're going to kill us aren't you?" A man cried. A heavy-set young man who had recently joined their ranks in order to take revenge on a woman who spurned his affections. The same woman whose husband and young son were slaughtered in front of her by her former admirer and the same woman who was left chained to a bedpost back at the camp.

The man turned his gaze towards the man who cried out, who wept harder and louder at the eyes staring at him.

"It's a line I try not to cross if I can help it," the man said as he reached towards hicks still sheathed blades, grabbing them and throwing them towards one of the mounted men. "But when push comes to shove, I'll cross that line any day of the week to prevent men like you from harming innocent people"

He let his words sink in for a moment, allowing the unspoken threat wash over every man who found themselves on the wrong side of the warriors' anger, "But no, I'm not going to kill you. The people you've harmed have the right to your lives, besides you're more useful to me alive then you are dead"

"And how's that?" Hicks sat up feeling his broken ribs stab him from the inside. _Oh god, it hurt, even more, to talk then it did to breathe, like a thousand needles stabbing him at once._

"Simple." The man said, gesturing to the armed men surrounding him, "You're going to take us to your encampment."

* * *

That's it. Happy holidays to all my readers. Not gonna lie, I wanted to update this yesterday but after work, I literally passed out the second I got to my apartment. I hope you guys enjoyed it though.

Also to the guy sending me private messages insulting me, learn to spell. I think it's cute you apparently hate me so much you sent me 12 PM in five days about how much of a "Moran" I am but be a bit more original if you're gonna try and troll me.

Next chapter I'll have Steve's POV which will explain a little bit of why and how he got here, then the story can actually progress forward.

Please leave a review if you guys like it, please leave a review if you guys hate it, please leave a review if you guys hate me. Just please leave a review, I have a fragile ego and your words of praise and or your salty rage of displeasure are the only reasons I haven't put myself out of the misery that is this mortal existence.

That and orange soda and the new Legend of Zelda.


	3. Chapter 3

_-Several days ago-_

 _The mad titan smiled to himself as he adjusted the Gauntlet on his fist, the feeling of Unimaginable power surging through his entire body. His blood boiled with the exploding force of trillions upon trillions of supernovas. He could feel every living being in the universe, every breath they took, every thought they made, every futile attempt they made to prolong their insignificant lives. He could see everything, from the very beginning of existence to the very moment the universe would tear itself apart. The past, the present, the future, all appeared to his eyes simultaneously._

 _He could feel the very fabric of reality shift and bend in the palm of his hand. He was one with the universe, in all its spender._

 _He felt like a God._

 _And the only ones who dared to stand before him, during his final moment of victory were these weak insects, trying to avenge a world they failed to protect. He took a Single step towards the only other beings left who dared to oppose him, The look of determination on their faces amused him, the audacity of these creatures to even try and stop him was laughable, now that he had all of the stones._

 _"I hope you understand," Thanos spoke, His voice thundering, as his mere presence seemed to set the sky over new york city ablaze with an unholy light that blinded anyone foolish enough to stare at it. "That everything that happens now will be because of you."_

 _This would be the final battle that the Earth's mightiest heroes would fight._

 _The Asgardian would fall to dust, just like his brother and their dead kingdom._

 _The man in the iron suit would be torn apart and left to watch as the world he worked so hard to create was destroyed before his eyes._

 _The monster and the man who contained it will have their minds as well their bodies beaten down until it was nothing more than a dark smear on the ground he once walked upon._

 _As for the soldier..._

 _"I never took much pleasure from senseless torture," He took another step, cracking the earth beneath him and sending tremors throughout the world with each step he took. Closer to the man whose very presence gave hope to the hopeless, and who seemed to spark whatever resolve was left in the bodies of his comrades._

 _"I never prolonged the suffering of those who stood against me. But you?" The titan stared long and hard at Captain Steve Rogers, finding that even when staring at the face of a being with the powers of the universe itself, the human did not falter, he did not flinch._

 _That would have to change._

 _"The things I will do to you will certainly put a smile on my face."_

* * *

 _Present day_

-Alice P.O.V-

Alice was holding both of her hands in front of her mouth, desperate to make as little noise as possible. Her breath came in short, rushed gasps as her tiny lungs hyperventilated from sheer fear. Like many times in the past few days, the flood of men began to fill the halls of the stone prison as night fell. Nine men, already half drunk and smelling like wets dogs leered at them with cruel black eyes, promising more of the same things they had done to them day after day.

One by one, the devils would drag the women out of their cages, often beating them with wooden sticks and whips as they did. They would...do others things to them, things Alice didn't like to think about. The way they would scream and cry and beg for them to stop was more horrifying than anything Alice could imagine. Alice had closed her eyes, averted her face and crawled as far away from the nightmare as she could. But even with her hands covering her ears, she could still hear so much.

She dreaded the moment when her turn would come.

 _"What about this one?" a man with a scar running down his left cheek said to a man in an eye patch. They were talking about her! Alice closed her eyes tighter, tears building up from the sound of their disgusting voices._

 _"Save her for Hicks when he gets back, he's gonna need to relieve some stress when he gets back," the eye patch man said, licking his lips in a way that made Alice want to throw up._

Time went by like a slow trickle of water. Horrible and slow, but still clear. Alice knew when her turn would come now. When the man named Hicks came for her, until then though she had to watch and hear what was happening to the others. The women in the cages were nice, withdrawn and sad but still nice. They didn't deserve whatever was happening to them, but Alice thought no person deserved what was happening to them. She hadn't looked at them. She didn't want to see who the monsters would hurt next. She didn't want a face to go along with the sounds she was hearing.

It had to be worse than actually dying. When people were dead, they didn't feel anything bad anymore. She didn't want to be hurt. She wanted to live, but she wanted to stay unhurt so much more. If dying meant not being hurt like the devils hurt you, dying couldn't be worse.

The first woman was dragged out of her cage.

Despite herself, Alice still begged her parents to save her, to save everyone here. But she hadn't seen her father since their village was attacked and her mother was kept locked away on the other side of the camp. Which hurt Alice so much more because of how close she was to her mother and how she still couldn't be with her.

The air stunk. Like a bad, clogged toilet and blood and puke and sweat. Breathing it made her feel light in her head, but she could still feel her heart pounding. More devils came in through the door. They all laughed as the woman struggled against their grips, throwing her to one another like it was some sort of sick game. She struggled, and screamed, like all the others they took, elbowing a man in the face and breaking his nose and grabbing a knife from the belt of another and stabbing the scatted man in the shoulder.

She fought like they all had. She lost, too. Just like they all had.

Her face was blooded when she was thrown on the table, each of her arms and legs held tight by a devil as the scarred man took his turn at the front of the line.

"I'm gonna make you regret that, bitch"

Then, the impossible happened.

For a brief moment, Alice felt that the whole world slowed down before her, allowing her to see everything that happened that next moment. Everything seemed to explode. The wooden door lept from its heavy frame and impacted on one of the devils, knocking him to the ground as several of his bones audibly cracked. A Blue figure, almost a blur appeared suddenly and seemed to lift a man off the ground and throw him against the hard metal bars of their cage, hard enough to dent the black iron. So many things happened at once that she found it hard to keep track of them.

"SHIT,SHIT,SHIT,!" A man with dark eyes and a thick beard screamed as he was manhandled and lifted off the ground like he was a child. His body becoming a living, screaming weapon used to hammer and beat several other men who tried to run away or hide. The sound flesh and bone bouncing off more flesh and bone were the only sounds audible after the bearded mans screaming died down before he was tossed to the side and landed with a thud on the stone floor, Covered in the blood of his comrades as well as his own.

The man with the scarred cheek and yellow teeth was kicked so hard in the stomach he flew into the wall, a red stain appearing where his head impacted the cold stone.

The four men holding the woman down where thrown to the floor one by one by an unknown force, their necks twisted and bent in ways Alice didn't think necks were supposed to bend. as Alice swore the sound of church bells filled the room. The last devil moved towards the figure, but his body was flung to the other side of the room a second later, hitting the wall with a wet sound.

And then the room was quiet.

None of the older women in the cage dared to even breath, fearing any movement or sound would somehow send their savior away, but Alice thought that was silly. A knight who could defeat a room filled with evildoers would never be scared off by those he saved.

But wait... was he a knight? Alice thought to herself. She had never seen a knight before, her father had wanted to take her to a tournament last summer, but Alices mother thought she was much too young to go. But she had read countless books about knights, about the great Dragon knights of the west, and of the legendary Wolf swordsman of the north, and about their many adventures. Alice may not have ever seen a knight before, but she imagined if she did, they must look like the man in front of her.

But she had to be sure. "Are you a knight?" she whispered.

The man simply nodded.

That was enough for her, and it seemed to be good enough for the other people in the cage as well. The fear and exhaustion of the caged women were forgotten momentarily as they shot up towards the knight.

If it wasn't for the iron bars that separated them, Alice would have given her knight the biggest hug she had ever given to anyone, and she figured many of the others wanted to do the exact same thing, but before her eyes, the knight grabbed the thick iron chain that kept them locked in and with a single pull snapped the thick iron like a trig.

Before the metal shards even hit the ground, Alice ran to hug the knight's massive leg, which could have been a tree trunk, next to her tiny frame. Clearly, the man had not expected such a greeting "Uh…hello," he said, his voice low and masculine, but his words soft as if he did not wish to scare her. The sudden action seemed to awaken the other women as they poured out of their cages. While some were much too skittish to get closer to their savior, dozens more encircled the man, with strange blue garb. Most were sobbing their thanks in broken voices, some needed to be carried out of their bondage, too malnourished to even move their bodies.

Chain after chain was ripped apart and left crumpled like discarded pieces parchment, iron gates that required keys to enter were ripped out of the stone wall with strength Alice didn't know a single man could have, but her knight didn't seem to be like most men. By the time the knight was done every tool of imprisonment littered the floor and the room was filled to the brim with the newly freed women.

"All right. The tree line is northwest, don't make a move until after the fighting stars. Stay low and don't stop moving, I have men in the woods waiting for you, they'll get you all to safety if things get dangerous" The knight spoke as he led the women to the room's exit.

"You're not coming with us?" A woman, whose perfect complexion was marred by bruises and little sleep said, her voice cracking with fear. She wasn't alone as more of the captives felt it would be a death sentence for them if they tried to escape alone.

"there are more captives that need rescuing I can't let them suffer more than they already have." The man said, his voice filled with such strength and confidence, Alice felt herself stand a little bit taller than she did normally.

"But what if more of those vile men attack us! there are hundreds of them still out there!" Another woman said while tending to the bloodied woman who was about be defiled before the knight's sudden appearance.

"Don't worry about them." The knight said before turning to leave them." They're not going to hurt anyone ever again."

* * *

 **Excerpt from "** _ **The shield of the people**_ **," by Professor Stephanie Levantyne, Chancellor of the Royal University of Ken.**

 **It would be impossible to understate or downplay the importance of Sir Steven Rogers on the whole of Eostian Society, nor would it be inaccurate to say that he was the single most important figure during " The first Eostian Civil War", or what it is commonly known to the average citizen as "The Black Dog Rebellion." After so many years the man, who many call the "The knight of the White Star" and "The shield of Eostia", has been canonized in the hearts and minds of all who knew him and all who grew up hearing of his exploits. But it is important to understand the man behind the legend, and the kind heart and unbreakable spirit behind the greatest soldier and hero the realm had ever known.**

* * *

This is a pretty short chapter and one that went through a lot of trial and error. I originally wrote about 4000 words detailing Captain America destroying The Kuroinu camp while having flashbacks of what caused him to appear from his world. But after re-reading, it came across as unbalanced, weirdly paced and quite frankly a little redundant. So I decided to go with a less is more strategy.

So for the sake of moving the story Foward and the fact that well, I think the most fun about the story will come from not seeing Steve destroy nameless mercenaries but from seeing a dude like Steve "the best guy ever" Rogers interact with characters who run on "Porn logic" and seeing him beat named characters like vault like they were red-headed stepchildren So I decided to cut this chapter short to speed up Steves meeting with the seven shield alliance.

Either way, I hope you guys like it.

Review, favorite, whatever else you guys do.


	4. Chapter 4

**THE FOLLOWING IS A FAN BASED PARODY.**

 **I OWN NOTHING ABOUT EITHER OF THESE PROPERTIES.**

 **THEY ARE BOTH OWNED BY THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.**

 **PLEASE SUPPORT THE OFFICIAL RELEASE.**

* * *

-Steve POV-

As Steve marched through the town gates, he could feel an overwhelming sense of nostalgia wash over him. With hundreds of freed prisoners at his back, some crying at the sight of their loved ones after the horrors they lived through, he was reminded of the first mission he had ever partaken in during the war. Before the Aliens, before the gods, Before the monsters and mutants, and certainly before the genius billionaire philanthropists. Back in the day when he was the weirdest thing walking around and things were simple.

 _"Oh god," he thought to himself," I'm talking about the good old' days"_

If only Tony could see him now.

Similar to the last time he found himself in this situation, he soon found himself mobbed by grateful villagers, in what was quickly becoming a routine occurrence in the small town. Grateful men, women, and children rushing towards him chanting his name in ways that made him somewhat uncomfortable, but he put on the stoic face he had perfected since his USO touring days and bared it as best as he could.

There was one difference between then and now, however. Instead of just being met by the faces of tired war-torn faces of confused veterans watching a "dancing monkey" from propaganda pictures return triumphant from a suicide mission, he was met with...well...

Women. Dozens of women. Dozens of beautiful women. Dozens of Beautiful women in some of the most scandalous outfits Steve had ever seen in his life.

 _They're dressed just like those dancers Tony got for Thors birthday last year._

Their armor, or whatever they wore as armor offered little in terms of protection, barely covering more of their skin than some modern-day bathing suits he'd seen. With strips of metal not even covering their the most vital parts of their bodies.

The two women in charge of the group of female warriors walked towards him with confidence, parting the mob of villagers like the red sea as they walked closer to him. The first was young, late teens to early twenties if he had to guess, with long blonde hair and deep violet eyes. Despite the frills of her clothing and her delicate features, Steve could tell she knew how to use the sword strapped to her side. The other woman, older then the first had bright red hair, cut short and tied back with a headband. She wore no armor, clearly relying more on her speed and agility to protect her from harm. Either that or relying on the insane amount of cleavage to distract her opponents. But it was the smirk on her face as she eyed him up that was the most eye-catching.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm." The redhead said with a grin that looked straight up predatory directed at him. "I knew coming here wasn't going to be a waste of time."

All in all, she looked and acted like the amalgamation of Tony and Natasha that he was sure the world wasn't quite ready for.

"Sir Steven Rodgers I assume." The young blonde woman spoke, her voice conveying confidence and the authority of her position as she sized him up, and apparently finding him lacking if the look on her face conveyed anything." I see you've finally arrived."

Steve knew that tone of voice anywhere, the tone of voice that belonged to a young officer on their first assignment as a leader, and tried much too hard to convey what they thought a leader should act like.

 _I'd certainly met my fair share of soldiers with a chip on their shoulder with something to prove._

"Yeah well..." Steve started, looking past the two women to watch a small girl have a tearful reunion with her mother and father." ...I had some things I needed to take care of."

He had not expected them to arrive so quickly but he supposed it took him longer to return from the enemy encampment then it took to arrive there. He could only travel as fast as the slowest person in their party and after everything, the prisoners have suffered at the hands of the enemy he wasn't comfortable with pushing them harder than they could handle.

His answer was not well received by the younger of the two women. Steve prided himself on knowing the exact look on the face of a woman who didn't like him. It was a skill he learned as a young man growing up in Brooklyn, before the super soldier serum that helped make him the man he was today when he was nothing more than a 100-pound art student who couldn't buy himself a girlfriend if he had his old friend Howard Starks fortune.

 _"Can't blame them," Steve thought "Most girls didn't want to dance with a guy they could crush under their heels."_

Noticing the three of them were quickly becoming the center of attention and knowing full well that the upcoming conversation would do well without an audience, Steve led the two women into a place he could expect some sort of privacy, the village tavern. The owner met him at the door and flung his arms out in a hug, a sense of familiarity in the gesture that certainly confused the two women who followed him.

The same room Steve had called home for the past few days was simple and sparse. A straw Bed, a small desk, and a small round table being the only furniture in the spartan room. But it fit Steves needs just as well.

"I supposed introductions are in order."

"We know who you are." The blonde spoke rather harshly, But Steve paid it no mind. After dealing with both Maria Hill AND Tony Stark for so long, it made one somewhat accustomed to being talked down to.

"And I don't know who you are." He started" You can see where this would be a bit confusing for me."

The blonde remained apprehensive, the redhead on the other hand...

"The names Maia, stud," Maia said, striding towards Steve like he was her next meal. "But you can refer to me as, gorgeous, goddess, or the future mother of your children, whatever works for you."

 _"They really make them bold here don't they._ " Steve thought to himself feeling like a canary staring at the grinning face of a tiger.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am," Steve said, staring deep into Maia's eyes. No need to act like a pervert to a woman he just met, Sarah Rogers raised him better than that. His restraint did nothing to deter the flirtatious redhead if anything the grin on her face only seemed to grow larger than before.

The younger woman scoffed at her companion's antics, before bowing low and announcing a rather impressive assortment of names and titles.

"I am Alicia Arcturus, the sole Sion of the line of princess knights of Iris, eldest child of Eros the third, King of Feoh and protector of the peace," the blond said in a practiced tone of voice before rising back to her full height," A pleasure I am sure."

 _Now that's a mouth full_

"Lady Alicia," he began as he offered the blonde woman in front of him his gloved hand in greeting."It's good to see the Queen had taken my words seriously."

The young woman stiffened slightly as she looked down at the much larger hand in front of her before she tentatively allowed her own became engulfed by it in a firm handshake.

"Our Queen." She started stiffly, stiffer then Steve would have liked at the first meeting with potential allies would go, before adding "Takes the safety of her subjects most seriously, you should do well to remember that."

Steve stopped himself from visibly grimacing at the tone, this was not how he would have liked the first meeting between him and this "high queens" representative. The woman in front of him clearly skipped out the day they taught how to interact with possible allies. Thankfully he was not alone, as the redhead visibly rolled her eyes at her companion's words.

"No need to bite the man's head off Alicia," The woman, Maia spoke in an exasperated tone. "I'm sure he meant no offense and you know as well as I know our good queen wouldn't take offense."

The redhead seemed to be much more forgiving of Steves lack of social graces, which he was immensely grateful for. He had only just figured out that the land he found himself stuck in was a monarchy only a few days prior when he wrote the letter detailing the skirmish that took place outside the village. He thought the letter he wrote was perfectly respectful of the queen's station but it seemed his bluntness in tone may have rubbed those of the nobility the wrong way.

 _T'challa had never stood on such ceremonies. And Thor was a literal god and even he would scoff whenever anyone referred to him by anything other than his name._

"Regardless of his intent, the man should not speak of our high Queen with such tones," Her biting tone doing little to intimidate the much larger man, much to the knight's displeasure. " or I will be forced to teach him the error of his mistake."

Steve fought off the urge to roll his eyes at the threat as he maintained his composure. It wouldn't do anyone any good to let his emotions dictate how this meeting would go. Lives were at stake.

" I may not be the most well versed in this country's etiquette," he started gently, trying to salvage the discussion before it imploded onto itself but felt his patience beginning to run thin. " But we should be discussing what we should do with these criminals and not my short-comings in diplomacy."

The attempt to placate the young woman seemed to work for the moment, as she didn't push the subject and thankfully moved away from his political snafu. Hopefully, he could keep this good luck going in his favor.

"You know the villagers have been telling us all about you since we got here," Maia said as she sauntered to sit at one of the free chairs at the table. Alicia followed suit silently, trying to maintain the dignity she still held after her outburst. "Can't say I put much weight on what they said. But after seeing you in person? Color me a believer"

Maia slowed her step slightly, allowing Steve to overtake her. He could feel her eyes follow his every movement in a way that didn't exactly put him at ease. But no matter what he did he could still feel that sultry smile on her face burn right through him...

He bounced his knuckles against the wooden table in yet another vain attempt to distract himself. And yet again it failed.

He drummed his fingers against his shield, hoping the hum of the vibranium would settle his mind. Yet again it failed.

Finally, he closed his eyes and began to think of things that so went against the term "sexy" that he could hear Tony's voice in the back of his head scream out just what exactly was wrong with him. And finally, after what felt like hours, Steve Rodgers had composed himself to a level where he could act like a normal person.

"People like to talk. "Steve said, trying to play down the more outlandish (and just as accurate) stories the inhabitants of the small village had shared since his departure." It takes their minds off of things they can't control."

"Unfettered talk of peasants is how rumors spread across the countryside, It would do well to stop this talk of nonsense before it becomes uncontrollable," Alicia spoke, her voice much more neutral then it was only a moment ago.

"That's a bridge we can cross later, right now we should discuss what is to be done to the prisoners, they can't stay here for long." Steve said sitting down," The people here deserve better than to be forced to see the faces of their assailants every day."

"In that, we are in agreement, As the Kuroinus crimes are against the people of Feoh it is only just that their punishments are carried out by the kingdom of Feoh," Alicia said, sitting down on the wooden chair. "I shall transport them to the capital and they shall be punished to the furthest extent of the laws of my people."

"That's what I'd like to talk about with you, I've spoken with several villagers here, and they claim they would prefer these men to be sent to this continents capital, to face the Queen's justice in Ken."

For a moment neither of the two women spoke, with the red-headed Maia looking closely at her companion, gauging her reaction to this news. If what she said was true, and that the lands victimized were under the protection of her family, then the fact that the people here didn't trust her enough to ensure justice for them was a huge blow to her pride.

It showed.

A complex away of emotion flashed across her face for a moment. Confusion, Anger, Shame, flashed over her features one after another before her face steadied into an emotionless mask. But before she could find the words to speak, Maia found hers.

"He may be right," Maia said cutting through the tension like a knife," I know for a fact Some of these men are pretty high up the ladder of the Kuroinu leadership, Claudia would like nothing more than to speak with those men personally."

The blonde woman didn't lash out, which seemed to concern her partner more than any verbal outburst.

"If I may be so bold," Alicia asked, picking her words carefully as she stared right through him." Why would the people here not trust my ability to ensure them justice for what has happened to them?"

"Well..."Steve started, not quite knowing the best way to say what needed to be said." Some believe that your city, or more likely a faction in your city is working against their best interests."

"Are you saying..."

"You can't possibly mean..."

"I believe it might be possible. From what I've seen and heard it seems that these men have been raiding these lands under your noses for months." He said, looking between the two women. "Don't you think it's strange how no reports of almost 2,000 men never reached you before I wrote to you?"

"I can assure you by the honor of the Nobel class of Feoh, that no man would willingly lay with the Kuroinu. I'm sure you are used to dealing with...a lesser class of people but be assured that those in charge of information regarding the war were hand selected by my father, their honor and loyalty are beyond reproach." Alicia said, a hint of edge in her voice, that showed Steve he was on dangerous ground. The issue he faced, however, was to convince a very prideful woman that people she had known for her entire life may be untrustworthy.

Not the easiest pill to swallow from a man she had met less than an hour previously.

" I'm not the biggest fan of judging a person guilty of the strength of an accusation, especially when there is no proof, but all I'm saying is disregarding the possibility during a war could be potentially dangerous."

"How dare you defile the honor of a member of Feoh Nobility to my face." She spoke harshly, spiting her words like they were poison. Steve weathered the storm easy enough, not even flinching from the terse tone of voice and blazing eyes directed towards him.

"The only thing I care about right now is the safety of the people who don't have the luxury of living behind city walls." Steve said, his voice calm and firm," I don't claim to know anything about the men your father surrounds him with, but I do know these people don't trust those who see them as disposable fodder."

"And if somehow the enemy we're fighting has information about your armies that they shouldn't have, we have to ask how they have it and why they have been able to do as they please for so long."

Steve could tell he was in a delicate situation. If the volume and tone of her voice weren't an indication of her aggravation, then the hand on the pommel of her sword was.

"How dare you even speak such a thing!" Alicia exploded, with such velocity Maia believed her friend would attack the rooms sole male occupant out of her anger.

"These people are suffering, and they're not the only ones," Steve said, his voice raised in such a way that stunned the woman before him into silence.

"Those men have been terrorizing them for weeks! Some of the women imprisoned at their camps have been there since this war started. "He said, looking between the two women in front of him " and you didn't know about them? Not a single one of your scouts knew about them? And you're not curious as to why that is?"

For a moment Steve thought he had gotten through to them. Maia looked conflicted as she mulled over what he had said, but her eyes showed that she at least was putting some weight into his theory. Alicia on the other hand...

"I will not stand for someone like you speaking of topics you know nothing about." Her voice had gained several levels of volume since the talks had begun, clearly, the private discussion was not so private anymore, as half the village were listening in from the outside.

"Now, now." The redhead spoke, doing her best to get between the two of them" There's no need to fight, you're both much too pretty to start arguing with one another." The joke wasn't enough to dissuade her younger companion.

She shook the redhead's hand off her shoulder, never breaking eye contact with him as she marched right up to the much larger man, looking more akin to a child speaking to her parent, and less like two adults speaking as peers.

"I will not stand here and be spoken in such a way by some jumped up peasant masquerading as a knight."

And with that the blond left the Tavern, fully intending to leave the village and the man who would disrespect the honor of her kingdom to their fates.

* * *

-Alicia POV-

To say Alicia was not having the best of days would be a gross understatement.

The blonde princess knight pressed a free hand to her temple in a vain attempt to sooth the coming headache but despite her best efforts, she could feel her mood begin to take a turn for the worse.

"That man..." She growled to herself as she watched the villagers go about their business. Most paid her no mind, plainly ignoring her and trying their best not to even make eye contact with her, while some could barely contain their displeasure as they glared daggers at her. It seemed somehow her less then glowing opinion of Steven Rogers had quickly become known to the village at large.

And they were not happy about it.

Alicia was used to being the center of attention. As the only child of the king and heiress to the kingdom of Feoh, she was quite accustomed to being the center of attention, it was one of the reasons why she chose to begin her training to be a knight. If she would be forced upon a pedestal for her entire life, let people see her for her skill and accomplishments, not just her status of birth.

But these villagers didn't see a knight, or a princess, or even a person when they looked at her. They only saw someone who belittled the man who saved their lives.

Alicia sighed to herself. Once again, her temper had gotten her into trouble

Since their arrival, she and the women under her command have heard the stories about the man. Feats of unnatural prowess and strength that seemed more akin to drunk's ramblings or a fairy tale told to children before bed then reality.

 _"Sir defeated an Orc war Chief with nothing more than his bare hands, crushed its skull he did, with a single strike."_

 _"He stopped an enemy charge of over a dozen men with nothing more than his shield! It was like the black dogs had run into a wall made of solid stone!"_

 _"The man saved my daughter from those beasts, smashed a grown man near 20 feet into the air like he was a child! Never seen anything like it before."_

She scuffed as she heard them, but seeing how the people worship the man? Seeing small children playing with wooden shields with crudely painted stars? Seeing men and women stop what they are doing to watch his every movement? It was clear to her, that the man was held in high esteem by those who knew him.

...And she called him jumped up peasant pretending to be a knight. What would Prima say if she had heard her say such horrid things?

She was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of an argument breaking out. It seemed even when beaten and captured, the men of the Kuroinu weren't smart enough to not antagonize their captors.

The men and she used the term loosely to describe the animals that the mercenary band were, where huddled together in cages, the same cages they used to hold their own prisoners like cattle. While many of the men who held leadership positions with the company were kept isolated from their men, the vast majority were corralled near the edges of the village.

"Here, pretty pretty, why don't you get a little bit closer and keep my friends and i company," A rather large, bald-headed man said to one of her junior knights, a young brunette woman named Krista, who had drawn the first watch in guarding the makeshift cage some of the less important hostages found themselves in.

Despite the less than admirable arrangement, she found herself in, Krista held herself well, and even found it in her to talk back to the rowdy men with a rather crude remark of her own.

"I'm not so sure I'm your type, maybe you and your friends would be more willing to enjoy each other's company in the cage. I'm sure not all of you have your arms bound."

The remark did not go over well.

"Watch your mouth you dumb whore, or I'll show you how you should be using that mouth of yours." The man sneered, his freshly broken nose blazing red like a smashed strawberry on his dirty face. The Crude remark was enough to cause a ruckus within the makeshift prison. As each man seemed to take pleasure in the young woman's discomfort. Alicia herself was about to step in, and show these "Men" the error of their ways when for the second time that day she was caught off guard.

"Now that was uncalled for, and here I thought we had an understanding with one another." Another voice broke through the rush of laughter, silencing the unruly bunch of soldiers far easier then Alicia thought was possible.

The mercenary, who must have stood nearly six and a half feet tall, didn't turn to face the voice that spoke to him but the color that drained from his face showed that he knew exactly who spoke. He legs almost buckled and a distinct shiver ran up his spine as Rodgers walked towards them.

"What did I say about using that type of language."

"I'm sorry." The massive man's voice broke as he stumbled back from the cage. His fellow mercenaries refused to look up from the ground as their companion came face to face with the sole reason for their defeat.

"Don't apologize to me," he said, nodding his head towards the female knight. "Apologize to the Lady."

Alicia half expected the large mercenary to regain his courage at the last movement and refuse the command, but to her surprise the man looked straight at her, his eyes wide with fear.

"I'm sorry my lady, please forgive me." The man said rather pathetically, looking, looking more worried about Rogers opinion of his vile words then the woman he said it to.

Alicia was at a loss for words, and she wasn't the only one. The young knight who had faced the brunt of the man's anger had a confused look upon her face as she looked back and forth between the two men, before looking towards Alicia herself for an answer to her unspoken question.

"Krista," Alicia said, willing her voice not to break in front of her subordinate. "Perhaps you should take a break, I'll cover the rest of your watch."

The young woman nodded and took her leave, leaving the Alicia alone with the man who seemed to have destroyed the morale of their enemies by his very presence.

 _Perhaps the stories have some truth in them_

Alicia stood as tall as she could as she stared at the man who she had insulted, her mind and pride wrestling with one another in regards to apologizing for her un-ladylike outburst. Her pride, to her utmost shame, however, would not be vanquished so easily.

"So, you seem to be quite sure in your accusations?" She said watching for any outward signs of emotion on the man's face," A traitor in my father's court, working against the interest of the alliance?"

A simple nod was the only answer she received, but the gesture held such conviction that Alicia felt her confidence falter ever slightly. If he was wrong, and that her father's men were loyal to Feoh and to the shield alliance, then nothing would be different. But if he was right?

If there was a faction within her own kingdom or even a single person that was endangering the lives of her people through their treason, then what kind of leader would she be if she ignored it? Alicia looked towards Maia and saw the same conflicted gaze in her eyes as Alicia felt.

"Then you will accompany me to Feoh," Alicia said, walking towards Rogers, stopping only a few feet away from him "If there is such a conspiracy in my kingdom then I will be the one to put a stop to it."

If Alicia was expecting some great declaration some from the man, she certainly didn't get it. There was no sweeping speech about his virtue as a warrior or how he was going to vanquish the evils that he believed infested her City, nor did she hear a boost of pride in verbally besting her. A quick roll of his shoulders and a quick crack of his neck was the only reaction he gave, before answering.

"When do we leave?"

* * *

-Chloe POV several days later-

Patience was not a characteristic, the dark elf Chloe was said to have an abundance of, especially when it involved humans.

She wasn't going to sugar coat it, she hated humans. She hated how they looked, with their short stubby ears and sickly pale skin. She hated how they talked, with their course tongue that felt like sandpaper on her sensitive ears. She hated how they moved, as ungraceful and sluggish as a drunken mule. she even hated how they smelled, to the point where even the thought of being near a human would have made her violently sick only several months prior.

But even so, she would have to admit, even silently to herself that not all humans were as bad as she thought herself to believe. One such woman was sitting silently in front of her, eyebrows furrowed as she re-read the parchment in her hands for what had to be the fifth time since Chloe was admitted into her private chambers.

Lady Claudia Levantaine was a shining beacon of what a human could and even should be in Chloe's opinion. She was both strong and stern with those under her command, her skill with a blade and experience leading men and women into battle made her force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, but also gentle and caring in a way Chloe assumed only mothers could be to their children. Even taking into account the disadvantage of being born a human, Chloe could see why such a woman rose so high in the ranks of Queen Celestine templar knights. So fierce was her reputation on and off the battlefield was enough to gain the respect of not only Chloe but her queen as well.

It was that respect in mind the Chloe held her tongue for the past several minutes since entering lady Claudia's personal chambers, waiting for the elder swordswoman to speak. She sat across from the other woman who seemed engrossed in the letter she held in front of her. Her eyes re-read the letter again and again as if trying to determine some hidden meaning.

 _Does she believe the letter's words will change if she just stares at them long enough?_

"My lady?" She said softly. _It is bad enough to be summoned here without having to then wait for an explanation for why I was asked to come in the first place._

Lady Claudia sighed deeply and set the letter on the table in front of her. "My apologies Lady Clohe. I have just received word from Maia and Alicia."

At the mention of the blonde haired knight, Clohe felt her body stiffen and her mood instantly darken. It was no secret that the two weren't the biggest fans of one other, in fact, it would be more accurate to say the two barely tolerated one another on the best of days and were outright antagonist to the other on the worst of days. To the point where the two would only be seen in the same room as the other when doing their duties to their respected queens.

"Oh" the dark elf spoke, trying her best to keep the venom out of her voice, "and pry tell what have they discovered? Did the letter speak true? Of was this all a "wild geese chase" as you humans say?"

The lady knight, despite the stern expression on her face, found it in herself to lightly laugh at another one of the elves misquotes of a human turn of phrase.

" It's a "wild goose chase" and no, it seems that if anything the letter seemed to downplay the significance of the outcome of the battle."

Chloe recalled the letter in question, so surprised she was by its contents she must have read the message a dozen or so times. She remembered that while the message was short and direct, it contained such shocking details that Chloe believed it to be a part of some clever scheme by Vault and his forces to deceive them. But to hear the fact that the message had been downplayed?

"And just how pray tell, could a message detailing the defeat of 1,000 men be considered downplayed?"

"it seemed that the attacking force that was reported was apart of an even greater force stationed several leagues away. It seems those who managed to escape the battle led their assailants back to their base camp." She said before passing the letter to Chloe to deliver to the two elven sovereigns.

"Queen Olga will be very much pleased by this news.." The stern look and knowing smile on the older woman's face conveyed Chloe's mistake without a word. "...as well as Queen Celestine, I'm sure."

"Oh, I am quite sure they will not be surprised in the slightest," the female knight stood up from her chair, as graceful as a bird of prey in flight, and walked towards the window of her chambers to the training ground below.

"Unlike the rest of us, they were assured of the importance of this moment for the course of the war, and with what the letter implies, not only is vaults forces crippled in the area, but we have captured Vaults right-hand man right under his nose."

Hicks, she remembered that man very well. One of Vaults most trusted lieutenants and easily one of the vilest men in the Black dog's employment. A man who looked and acted like a literal snake in the grass, ready to strike at any person unfortunate enough to look at him wrong.

The same man who said would slit her throat after he was finished using her body if she even so much as sneered at him from her prison cell. The thought of the mocking smirk on his face was enough to make Chloe want to take a shower in an attempt to feel clean.

"And this was confirmed? Could Alicia be mistaken?" The blonde princess wasn't the sharpest blade and wasn't the most open to admit her own failures.

 _"and there are many," the elf thought to herself bitterly_.

"Maia confirmed it herself. She and Hicks go back a long way. According to her they grew up in the same orphanage as children and joined the Kuroinu around the same time. There's little doubt in Maia mistaking him."

Of course, lady Maia identified the man, Chloe thought to herself, momentary chastising herself for questioning Queen Celestine's decision in sending the self-proclaimed mercenary queen along for the mission. Despite the alliance, the dark elf couldn't seem to help herself from questioning the decisions of the former enemy of her mistress.

 _Perhaps I should put more faith into the high Queen's hands._

"Lady Alicia is not returning to the Capital then?" Chloe asked.

"Yes, it seems Alicia must remain in Feoh for at least a fortnight, with the health of her father on the decline, the responsibility of ruling Feoh is hers to bear. Thankfully with the defeat of the raiding parties in the area, it should be one less thing she must worry about, but even so, the expectations placed on her weigh upon her heavily.

Chloe grimaced at the thought, despite her less than admirable feelings towards the Princess of Feoh, the prospect of ruling an entire city-state was a difficult prospect during the best of times, let alone during a civil war. Perhaps, Chloe could show a little more mercy in her interactions with the blonde the next time they met.

Maybe... just a little bit at least.

"And this Steven Rogers?

"Alicia doesn't write much about the man, unfortunately, but it seems he will be joining lady Alicia on her journey to Feoh while Maia escorts the prisoners and refugees back to Ken."

Chloe caught herself from rolling her eyes, of course, Alicia would make such a short-sighted boneheaded decision such as this. The one person her Queen, as well as Celestine, had made it undoubtedly clear to all that they wanted to meet as soon as possible would now be kept away from Ken for possibly weeks on end, all because Alicia was more concerned with her standing to the nobles of Feoh then winning the war.

And here she thought she would put more effort into being nice the ego-driven blonde.

"My Queen will be most displeased by this news, she has mentioned to me several times in private that she wished to meet this man in person, Lady Celestine will be disappointed as well I'm sure."

"Not as disappointed as Maia it would seem"

"And why would lady Maia be disappointed about the man returning to Ken?"

Claudia laughed to herself, her eyes shining with a mischievous glint that looked downright strange on the respectable face of the elder knight. "You haven't known lady Maia long but I feel you have known her long enough to know she isn't the type of person to let something she wants to slip through her fingers."

The dark elf sat quietly, almost dreading what was coming after seeing such a drastic difference in the how the swordswoman carried herself, looking less like the respected military commander and warrior, and more like the halfling Luu-Luu when the queens royal cooks bake a fresh batch of lemon cakes.

"Maia sent me a personal letter alongside Alicia's. It's safe to assume the man has made quite the impression on her,"

Chloe read the short letter. Then she read it again. Then she read it a third time. She turned the letter upside down to see if the message made more sense like that.

It did not.

She scrambled the letters together, hoping to decipher the coded message.

It didn't help.

The confused but still thoughtful look on the dark elf's face was enough to drive the female knight to smile to herself and laugh in a way many nobles would call undignified on a woman on her station. The laugh only seemed to confuse Chloe more as she once again forced herself to decipher what had to be the hidden code of the short message in front of her.

 **"I CALL DIBS!"**

What in the name of the dark queen is that supposed to even mean?

* * *

Well...life has a way of sneaking up on you and bashing you over the head with a brick.

Sorry for the large gap between chapters, I will try and update more consistently but between work, finding a new apartment, getting hit by a car, my computer blowing up, my sister giving birth to twins,and finding out i may have cancer ( I don't by the way) these past few months have been a bit of a bitch if you catch my drift.

But enough of me complaining about life, let me thank everyone who has decided to read this story, (as well as my halo/Doa story) and decided to stick with me as I learn to be a competent writer.

Please read, review, and hopfully enjoy what is essentially a weird dream I had in 2017 that I decided to type up and post on this website.


	5. Chapter 5

**THE FOLLOWING IS A FAN BASED PARODY**

 **I OWN NOTHING IN REGARDS TO THESE TWO PROPERTIES**

 **THEY ARE OWNED BY THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS**

 **PLEASE SUPPORT THE OFFICIAL RELEASE.**

* * *

 **Alicia P.O.V. "Chambers of the chief healer of the royal hospital of Feoh"**

"Is there anything more you can tell us?"

The Royal healer looked up from his work, his wrikled face twisted in curiosity.

"He's dead your grace. I don't know what else I can tell you."

Alicia bit back a sharp retort. _Patience, I must have patience._ "Well, perhaps you could start by telling us how he died?"

The look of puzzlement became one of slight exasperation, "He fell a great height, your grace. His skull and back are broken in several places," the old man, who had held his position since the time of Alicia's grandfather pointed at what was left of the recently deceased man's head that was now nothing more than a ruin of blood, bone and dark hair, "The cause of death would seem to be obvious."

Alicia sighed to herself, trying to rein in her temper as best as she could. Since her arrival back in Feoh Alicia had felt bombarded with near endless problems within the city. Due to her father's recent illness, as well as Alicia's own responsibilities overseeing their armies in Ken, the responsibility of ruling over Feoh as well as its surrounding territories has rested solely on the shoulder of the king's council as well as the prime minister, Lord Beasly.

Their abilities seemed to be lacking as it were, as problems that had gone either unnoticed or unaddressed for weeks if not months were allowed to fester to the point of nearly crippling the city.

Due to the increased number of the cities inhabitants since the war started, the city guard was stretched to its absolute limits, many of them working several shifts in a row without rest in order to make up for their lack of manpower. The cities defenses were woefully underfunded, with entire sections of walls left wide open to attack.

 _Beasly claims the royal coffers are empty from the relief efforts for the number of refugees entering the city, yet he still sees fit to parade around the council chambers in his finest silks and jewels._

She pushed the problems of the outside world out of her mind for now, for how many problems the city faced, and because of the men put in charge of it there were many, they wouldn't mean anything if there truly were those who wished to destroy it from the inside.

The man in front of her, laying on a slab, as cold and unmoving as any corpse she had ever seen was only the latest link in the chain she had unearthed. The young man, Gerald Dayne, was a scout in the 12th brigade stationed near the northern front, and one of only three men who had been tasked with delivering the false messages from the front lines to Feoh and Ken regarding enemy troop movement.

And now the last of those same three men to be found dead within as many days.

The soft sounding of metal armor along with the padding of approaching feet came from the corner of the room. "I'm sure Princess Alicia is grateful for your…penetrating…insight Sir," Vera uttered softly, "But I believe we would be grateful for more information. Anything you could tell us could prove invaluable."

Alicia nodded gratefully to Vera, her right-hand woman. Her headache was becoming worse. Much worse. And if the day was going to continue as such, there would be no relief in sight.

The man sniffed and he stepped away from the examination table. He turned his back on the two of them and plunged his hands into a bowl of water, washing the blood and brains from the limbs.

"The fall is definitely the reason for the boy's demise," the old healer offered as he spoke over his shoulder. "There is no other injury to the body. No stab wounds or the like." The heavyset man stopped cleaning his hands and paused to dry them on a cloth set next to the bowl. As he wiped his hands he turned towards them, "Indeed, aside from the injuries caused by the fall there are no signs of violence on the body whatsoever."

 _At last, we're getting somewhere._ "So, he did fall?"

The old man smiled, showing a rather lackluster amount of teeth. He scratched at an itch that seemed to be plaguing his nose. "Oh, he definitely fell your grace. Regrettably, I can't say what happened before he took his unfortunate plunge. I can tell you there are no lacerations or abrasions on the body save those that can be explained away by the fall itself."

Alicia glanced towards the body on the table, "So there was no struggle, it is unlikely that foul play was involved?

The healer eyed her shrewdly, "The boy was more than a little drunk at the time of the fall. Nor was he a particularly big or strong man. I doubt he could have put up a struggle, even if he had wanted to."

The non-answer caught Alicia by surprise. Despite the man's terse way of conversation, he seemed quite hesitant to refer to this death as accidental. The princess knight, however, nodded gloomily. Despite the oddity of the situation, she still held no proof of foul play. And while the concept of a conspiracy within her city had gained more and more validity with her by the day, even she had to admit there was no indisputable evidence to support it.

The man in front of her, fell to his death after a night of drinking – no witnesses

Another man burned to death when his home caught fire in the middle of the night as he slept- no witnesses

The last had his skull smashed in from a loose piece of stone falling from the city wall- no witnesses

All happening within a day of one another, all ruled accidental, and all having no witnesses to the actual event as it took place. Alicia had to agree with Vera's earlier sentiments, " _Something smelled rotten in the state of Feoh, indeed."_

"Have the body turned over to the church for burial," Alicia ordered as she turned away from the corpse.

"As your grace commands," The man said, examining her in much the same manner as he had the young scout's body mere moments before, "It will be done within the hour." He rang a bell for some servants to carry out the body. As the corpse was taken away, the old man addressed her once again, "If that is all your grace, may I be excused? The prime minister has asked me to oversee the injuries of members of his personal house guard."

Alicia paused for a moment. How on earth did members of Lord Beasly's private guard become injured to the point where they need the royal doctor to oversee them personally?

While many of the cities Nobel families volunteered to supplement the dwindling numbers of the city guards with their own men, Beasley was not among them. Quite the opposite in fact, as he had used the vast fortune at his disposal to increase the number of men under his employ. Now he seemed to have more protection surrounding himself then the king himself, which was quite odd Alicia thought, for the man never seemed to leave his palatial estate for anything less than a council meeting or by order of the king himself.

"Nothing too serious I hope," Alicia said, her tone even despite the questions whirling in her head.

"A few broken bones and some internal bleedings, nothing life threatening I'm sure." The old man said, packing several instruments into a large medical bag, "It seems a drunken brawl had broken out the previous night, things like this seem to happen when alcohol and men are together."

Alicia nodded in affirmation, but thoughts seemed to linger. Perhaps she was simply being paranoid over the recent events, she had been working hard these past few days trying to fix the many problems of the city let alone her unofficial investigation, her lack of rest may be affecting her judgment. But then again, there is no such thing as coincidence in war. Or so her father said

She thanked the healer for his service and then walked from his chambers. Vera walked silently with her, Her pace brisk and her face an unreadable mask. But Alicia had known the woman long enough to know what was on her mind.

"Well, this certainly doesn't look suspicious at all." The veteran knight said, sarcasm dripping off every word she spoke. Vera could be as blunt as a war hammer when she needed to be, which did not ingratiate herself with many in the ruling factions of the city.

"We have no evidence to assume treachery," Alicia said, not quick believing her own words.

"You don't need evidence to see something smells like a rat."

Alicia couldn't disagree with her friend. The situation in the capital was going from bad to worse and this latest development was only going to add to the veritable plague of problems. It was made worse by the fact that, as of yet, she had no plan to resolve the numerous issues that dogged her.

* * *

 **Maia POV "Severals miles east of Ken"**

The spring night was hot and humid, enough so to make Maia dread what was to come when the summer months finally arrived.

Calypso, one of her most senior commanders and trusted friend, offered her another sip of her wine skin to quench her thirst, but Maia declined having already drunk her fill of wine for one night. She seemed to be alone in that fact, as those of her mercenary company not currently selected for guard duty have decided to celebrate their return to Ken by drinking whatever excess wine and ale they had left from their travels.

They were less than half a day away from the gates of the imperial city, and instead of traveling through the night, the members of the Erinye company opted to spend their last night on the road drinking, eating, and resting. Which suited Maia just fine. Marching throughout the night, was not something she particularly enjoyed doing on the best of days, but doing so all the while babysitting a horde of imprisoned violent man-children? No thank you.

Maia felt a chill crawl up her spine when she thought of the men only a dozen or so yards away from her, men who she once had called both comrades and even friends at one point in time.

 _Seems like yesterday I marched side by side with some of these men into battle._

Her mind wandered to her days in the kuroinu, where her only in concern in life was the thrill of battle and the feel of coin in her pocket. Back when she held allegiance to no one except her brothers in arms...and Vault...

"Keep the party going ladies," Maia said abruptly, standing up and walking away from the fire pit, "Nature calls, I'll be back soon."

The humid air made sitting by the fire unbearable, and her train of thought made being around so many people uncomfortable so she decided to try and tire herself out with a walk along the campsite but for not the first time she felt her mind wander back to the issue at hand.

Her terrible love life.

Like many women in her line of work, she was not averse to taking the company of a member of the opposite sex to her bed for the night. When one wasn't sure if they were going to live another 50 years or die the next day from a well-placed sword strike, they tended to try and experience as much of life as they could as quickly as they could.

But no matter what nameless man she took to her bed, there was always one man who until recently held her heart.

Vault

She felt the need to shower at the admission, but it was true. For years she had held a special place in her heart for her former commander and secretly hoped that one day that they would be more than comrades. But like so many things in her life, it was not yet to be.

When news of Vaults betrayal reached her ears, she couldn't believe it. The man who she looked up to, the man who saved her life from certain death, the man who she would have followed to the gates of hell and back, how could he be the monster these stories portrayed him to be?

She had never been so wrong.

As the war went on, and the death toll increased, and as more and more innocent people's lives were forever altered and ruined by Vault selfishness and cruelty, the more Maia realized that Vault wasn't as bad as the monsters he once fought. He was worse.

 _You think you know a guy then BOOM! It turns out he's a psychotic rapist...figures_

Maia figured she had learned her lesson about trusting men to act like decent human beings and not like animals in heat at the sight of an attractive woman when once again she let her loins make a decision before consulting her head.

 _Not like anyone would blame me though._

Steve Rogers, was a man unlike any she had met before. The rumors surrounding him interested her, just because of how outlandish they were. Even though she put little stock in those rumors she had to admit the more and more she saw of him, the more and more she liked about him.

and she was sure the feeling was mutual.

Maia was a woman of many qualities- one of finest blades in the country, personal friend to the Goddess reborn, Princess knight of the seven-shield alliance, - but foolish was never something she described herself as being. She could tell he looked at her, despite how polite he acted around her. Anyone with working eyes could tell the man was not immune to her considerable charm.

But he wasn't falling over himself, which she had come to expect when dealing with men.A man who could think with the head on his shoulders and not the one tucked in those well-fitted pants of his was a big plus in her book. The fact that he wore such "Well Fitted" pants was also a "BIG" plus in her book, and in the book of every member of her traveling party if the drunken gossip she heard was any indication.

But...

Maia sighed to herself, knowing full well she was doing the same thing she once did with Vault. She hardly knew Rogers, only speaking with him a handfull of times over the course of the past few days. And here she was already thinking the man could walk on water just because he was nice to her and didn't treat her like a piece of meat.

 _Goddess, am I pathetic..._

The sounds of the jeering and laughter of the camp died down the more she walked until finally, Maia found herself near the outskirts of their camp. Three large metal cages filled with the unwashed masses meet her vision as patrols of guards kept watch on their occupants.

She walked along the metal cages, ignoring the mass of criminals leering at her body as she moved, evidently making her appreciate the gentlemanly ways of Sir Rogers more and more by the second.

 _Like waving a piece of mutton in front of a kennel of dogs._

She stopped in front of the largest of the cages, nodding towards the lone guard standing between her and the cages lone occupant. The woman nodded back and stepped away from her station, giving Maia and her "old friend" the most privacy the man had had these past few days.

The man in front of her was different from his comrades, someone who deserved "special treatment" in regards to his imprisonment. Maia had the desire to speak to the man when she should have been with her own mercenaries drinking and joking the spring night away.

"All, hail, the Mercenary Queen!" Hicks called out, resting against the pole he was chained to inside the large metal cage. It was bigger than most houses many peasants could afford, and as imposing as a she-bear in heat, with thick metal bars forged from the thickest castle-forged steel she could get her hands on. Maia didn't want to allow Hicks a chance to get anywhere near the bars of his cage and attempt to snatch something that could help him escape. The man was dangerous, but more importantly, he was desperate, even without a sword in his hand, he could prove a danger to anyone who would get between him and his freedom.

Which was why she had at least three guards keep watch on him at all times of the day, armed with bows and arrows, ready to end the man should they have an inkling he was trying to escape. Even now Maia could feel the eyes of the best markswomen in her company follow her as she walked closer and closer to the steel cage that contained her former friend.

"That really is a stupid title you do know that right?" The man laughed to himself as she came closer, already amused with himself, "I mean are you the Queen of all the mercenaries? Do I have to obey you? Or is this all some sad way of trying to get Vault to pay attention to you?"

He looked straight at her, the same smug look on his face he wore whenever he thought himself clever, which now that Maia thought about was much to many times for a man like him.

"To be fair, it is better than your nickname," Maia countered, standing near the door to the cage." What was it we used to call you on the front lines again?"

The easy smirk and light tone in his voice vanished in an instant, so quickly it would have given Maia whiplash if she hadn't been used to the man's sudden mood swings. His teeth were bared in a growl and his eyes, once filled with contempt and belittlement, now held a dangerous glint in them. Maia held a ponderous look on her face, pretending to put effort into trying to remember her old comrade's childhood nickname, the same nickname that followed him all the way up to his first years in the Kuroinu.

"Don't you fucking dare..." Hicks growled, his voice once filled with mirth only a moment prior had morphed into something else entirely. His brow frowned, and his eyes set firm and hard, he looked more akin to an animal ready to tear its prey to pieces than a man she had known for half of her life.

Maia scoffed. Hicks had always been so sensitive when it came to how others viewed him. He wore his reputation as an easy-going rouge like it was armor, protecting his ego from any who hoped to harm him. But Maia knew better, she knew just how fragile and insecure Hicks really was and she knew just how to get under his skin in ways no one else in the world knew.

"I almost have it, it's on the tip of my tongue..." Her inquisitive look froze for a moment before morphing into a cat-like smirk." That's right now I remember, we used to call you.."

"YOU SAY THOSE WORDS AND I"LL MAKE YOU REGRET IT, YOU DUMB WHORE!" Hicks reacted just the way Maia expected he would, blindly and angrily. So blind in his anger he didn't seem to notice the sound of the groaning of bowstrings by those prepared to lose a barrage of arrows at his prone figure.

 _Wouldn't be the first time, he got bit in the ass for saying something stupid to the wrong person_

"My, oh my", her voice sounding scandalous as she covered her mouth in mock shock at the outburst." You've certainly expanded your vocabulary since Sir Rogers left us."

Hicks flinched.

The hard look on his face faltered for a moment before crumbling into a mask of dejection. Pure, and utter humiliation.

It had become a bit of a joke between members of her party since they had met the man who had haunted Maia thoughts these past few nights. Whenever a prisoner acted out, whenever they made threats against their person or made crude remarks towards them, all that was needed to silence them was to mention the shield-wielding warrior.

 _From as loud as a battlefield to as quiet as a cemetery in a blink of an eye._

Hicks was no exception. The very mention of the blonde-haired Adonis was enough to wipe the smirk off his face and send a shiver up his spine in a way that reminded Maia of child worried about monsters under their beds.

"Now why did you have to go and say something like that," Hicks said, recovering slightly, "We were having such a good time without you bringing up another man."

"And here I thought you'd be used to having women think about other men when they're with you," Maia said with an even tone.

"You certainly talk big when you have me chained like a common criminal, you wouldn't be this lippy if I had a blade in my hand."

"Let's find out, shall we?" She said, as she entered the cage and cut the distance between the two of them. She knelt down and pulled out a knife, savoring the flash of fear in hick's eyes before she cut the rope around Hicks' hands, leaving only the heavy iron bindings covering his limbs attaching him to the middle of the cage.

"Here I am, a woman getting lippy with you," She tossed a key towards his feet, just close enough for him to reach. "Let's see what you're going to do about it."

Despite himself, Hicks didn't move, just staring at the small piece of metal like it was about to grow legs and walk away any second.

"...You have someone waiting out there to shoot me the second I make a move don't you." Hicks said, eyeing his former comrade with his recently returned smirk, before kicking the key away. "Sorry to disappoint you, your majesty, but I don't plan to die from an arrow to the gut because of a botched escape."

Maia sighed to herself, disappointed but not surprised. Hicks had always seemed to find ways to get out of fights he knew he couldn't win. Talking his way out of problems through sheer will and excessive posturing was a defining feature of the man's life at this point.

"Guess I can't get the wool over your eyes huh," Maia said, her tone brisk as she walked around him, silently taunting him while she did.

"You never could," Hicks said, not even bothering to follow her movements as she walked behind him. "I could always read you like a book."

Maia stopped her pacing and stared down at the Kuroinu lieutenant, her face a mask of annoyance and displeasure at her former friend's words.

"You don't believe me, do you? "he almost laughed, his original swagger and cockiness back in his tone as he leaned forward as much as he could. "I'm surprised you think that. You and I are very much alike, you just don't want to admit it."

Maia could feel bile rise in her throat but managed to school her features with some effort.

Hicks smiled but she could tell he wasn't pleased with her reaction. He wanted her to snap at him in anger, he always used to get a kick out of getting her flustered and emotional. Despite everything she could say about him, in some ways he was still the same piece of shit he always was.

Maia schooled her features, allowing the insult to wash over her like a light spring rain. Her less then vocal reaction doing more to annoy Hicks then any quick witted responce she could have made. He'd failed to get a rise out of Maia and get her rattled like he did back when they were children, and once again fell back on what he was truly best at doing. Being a complete ass to those be couldn't outright bring harm to.

"Maybe you're right" He started, his voice returning to the light joking tone he usually held," You are way too naive about how the world works to be like me. Besides, say what you will about me, but at least I have the courtesy not to follow someone around like a lost puppy in hopes that they would give me a pity fuck."

Maia fought the urge to smirk. She should have seen it coming, it was such an easy thing for a man like hicks to say about her. And if Hicks had used that same insult before this war had started it would have cut her deep. Her feelings for Vault were an open secret it seemed during her time under his command, even she could admit that much.

But that was a long time ago, and despite the hero worship she once held for the man, he had shown himself to be the monster he truly was. And despite what she may have felt for the man, the things he had done and the things done in his name were too much for her to forgive.

"Sorry to break it to you, Hicks," She said with a wide smile on her face. "But that's all in the past. Its right next to the respect I used to have for you and the obsession with unicorns I had when I was six."

"Keep telling yourself that Maia," Hicks said, trying desperately to get the last word in before Maia walked away. "Maybe if you ask nicely Vault will make you one of his personal whores when this is all over."

Maia chuckled, a sound which confused Hicks more than any single statement could. she took back the key to the iron bindings and pocketed it before walking out of the cage and locking the door once, making a mental note to tell the guards when they redo the man's bindings to make them tighter.

 _He looks too comfortable for my tastes._

"You know, maybe if you ask nicely, the queen will let you survive long enough to see the end of this war," Maia spoke, the sound of the metal lock echoing across the dark night. " And when you see Vault on all fours, begging for mercy for his crimes, you'll know the full weight of all the stupid shit you've ever done in your life before I snuff it out myself."

She turned on her heels and walked away, Hicks unable to get a word out as she walked away. Maia smiled to herself, content with knowing she was one of the few people alive to ever leave Hicks completely speechless.

* * *

 **Steve P.O.V. "Royal gardens"**

Steve couldn't quite wipe the smile off his face as the young girl in front of him continued to speak to great length about one of the many breeds of exotic flowers that filled one of the castles many gardens.

"and this is called a blue Iris." The brightly colored girl spoke, her voice as soft and energetic as the calls of a songbird. " It was my aunt's favorite flower! my uncle filled the entire garden with these flowers all in bloom when he asked for her hand in marriage. Isn't it romantic Sir Rogers?"

Steve laughed slightly at the girl's enthusiasm. She had guided him throughout the grounds for the better part of the past hour, and she showed no signs of slowing down, as there didn't seem to be enough hours in the day for the girl to properly explain the ins and outs of each and every piece of foliage she could find.

 _And she seemed so shy the first time we met._

"Like something out of a fairy tale," Steve said, as continued to allow the much smaller girl to drag him around the outside garden. So here he found himself, a super soldier, who had waged war against monsters and gods, being manhandled by a young princess half his size. Natasha was right, he was too nice for his own good.

 _Like she had any room to talk. He'd seen the literal room of Christmas presents Clint's kids got from their "Auntie Nat"_

But Prim was a sweet girl, so Steve didn't mind that much; she was the type of person Steve always imagined his younger sister could have been if she had not died from a fever so young.

She had been shy the first time they met, using her protective older cousin as a protective barrier between her and him, a position Alicia had taken with much enthusiasm. But like so many before her, her curiosity seemed to get the best of her shyness, and she approached him one day and politely ask him to join her for tea.

Steve was never a fan of tea, much more of a black coffee type of guy, much to the utter disgust of Natasha and Wanda and their iced caramel lattes, but he also wasn't the type of person who would deny such a request, and gracefully excepted her invitation.

This must have pleased the young princess immensely, for she had taken it upon herself to join Steve nearly every day since then in one way or another.

Whether it be afternoon tea alongside Prima and several of her handmaidens, to escorting her on a visit towards one of the cities many churches, to even just following him around the library as he searched through the countless tomes in hopes of finding just how he got here and how he may be able to get back to earth, she always seemed to find herself in his presence eventually.

 _"Where's the tesseract when you really need it?"_

Prim was a kind soul, who when not organizing food drives for the number of refugees in the city or visiting one of the many healing camps throughout the city, had taken it upon herself to educate him "when interacting with a young lady". He could hear Tony's voice in the back of his head, choking on uncontrollable fits of laughter

They continued to walk along the many flowers and statues that littered the garden, the sound of their footsteps and the songs of birds the only things interrupting the pink haired princesses attempts to share her considerable knowledge to him.

That was until his sense of hearing told him they were being followed.

The sound of faint footsteps echoed all around him, the slight clinking of armor followed in-between each footstep. Steve paused misstep, the sudden stop of his frame was enough to almost cause the smaller woman guiding him to almost fall over by the suddenness.

Four figures, all of them familiar to the two stepped into view. The look in their eyes telling Steve Exactly why they were there and what they were planning to do. Miranda, with her deep brown curls fingered a battle axe, Rebecca, a tall woman with the strangest shade of blue hair Steve had ever seen unsheathed a long sword, Ariel, the only one of the four women who wore a helmet twirled a dagger in her left hand while the forth, a woman by the name of cheryl, with long black hair reaching down to her hips raised a rapier to her face.

Steve smiled to himself at the sight, only four of them? And here he had thought they had learned their lesson after all this time.

"Don't tell me. Are we doing this a again?" His voice seemed to sap a good portion of the four women's outer strength. They didn't look as confident as they did when they first appeared. Ariel almost dropping her dagger to the ground and looking much younger than her 21 years would imply. Rebecca, despite herself, took a step back, only to regain her composure a second later.

"But we were just going to go see the mountain lilies." Prim spoke, her voice reminding Steve of Tony whenever Pepper wouldn't let him doing something particularly dumb, which was a tone he used quite often now that Steve thought about it. Steve shot her an apologetic look, which he thanked was enough to wipe the disappointed look off her face.

"Not to worry princess." The woman in the lead, Cheryl, spoke to the young pink haired woman. "This won't take too long."

"Well, that certainly doesn't sound..." Steve said before Ariel cut him off, thrusting her thin blade forward in hopes of penetrating the blue armor of Steves' chest. It would have worked too... if it was against a normal person. But to Steve, it seemed the swordswoman was running towards him in quick drying cement. He met her before she could take her second step, his large hand gripping the woman's wrist and pulling her towards him, throwing her into a nearby flower bush.

"...ominous." Steve finished.

Miranda only took a moment to shack her head at Ariel's lackluster performance, before she prepared to swing her battle ax towards Steve. But before she could so much as twitch a muscle, she found herself on her back staring up at the concerned face of Prim, her head ringing from the lightning fast hip toss Steve had performed on her.

"It was a good effort Lady Miranda, but perhaps you could try a faster weapon next time?" Prim said, looking down at the lady knights face, all while Steve lightly hit the grip of Ariel's own sword against the back of her head, knocking her down once again when she tried to rejoin the fight.

Another thud hit the ground as Rebecca's body landed right next to Miranda, her long sword disarmed from her hands and indented into the ground like it was its sheath. "By the goddess" Rebecca moaned, rubbing her head slightly on the ground, her hazel eyes widening slightly as Steve continued to hold Chyels arms against her back as she struggled in vain to break free." I really thought that was going to work!"

Steve chuckled to himself as Chyels jerks and spasms quickly died down, and she gave up the impossible fight of breaking Steve's iron like grip.

"What a bloody waste of time." Miranda huffed as she dragged herself to her still shaky feet. Using Rebecca's ground sheathed long sword to keep her body upright.

"You four lasted longer than the last group," Steve said, lifting Rebecca up off the ground as easily as a parent does to a child," That's got to mean something."

But before the conversation could move further, the man and women found themselves interrupted by the introduction of two newcomers into the garden.

"What is the meaning of this?" Alicia said, her voice reminding Steve of the drill instructor he had during basic training, glaring daggers at him and her subordinates. The knights, who seemed to have the decency to look embarrassed and apologetic didn't meet Alicia's stare, clearly finding the cobblestone ground far more interesting than facing the brunt of the princess knight of Iris's anger.

 _Funny, because I think we all know who's really getting the brunt of that..._

"You." Alicia said, striding towards Steve like a woman on a mission," What is the meaning of this blatant assault on knights of Feoh!"

Steve looked around him, finding the faces of every one of the women seemed to be on him, waiting to see what he would do about the verbal assault on his character.

 _Don't want to disappoint them, do I?_

"This?" He said pointing towards the still bruised and limping soldiers behind him," Just a little training in team building. I might have taken things a bit far."

The woman accompanying Alicia remained stoic, but her eyes shone barley contained merriment at the sight. While little prima was not so lucky, as the corners of her lips curled upwards, only to fake a light cough to cover the sound of laughter. Alicia's stern look only seemed to intensify but softened at the sound of Prima's light giggle. She seemed to be in control of herself by the time she spoke again, but Steve could still tell something was bothering her, and it wasn't just him.

"I don't appreciate you assaulting my knights," Alicia said, cutting off the distance between her and Steve with a few long strides "You are a guest here Rogers, and I expect you to treat my hospitality with the respect it deserves."

"It's not his fault, " the woman Rebecca said, nursing her bruised side and her bruised ego." It was just a friendly spar, milady."

"Yes," Chyel said, holding up the still woozy figure of Ariel against her shoulder. "We just wanted to see if the stories about him were true!"

A light moan of discomfort was the only answer Ariel gave, but the tone of the sounds made it clear she agreed with her comrades.

Alicia sighed, rubbing her temples to try and sooth whatever headache was threatening to overtake her. Before again she looked towards her cousin. The two were close, immensely close, Steve started to realize, reminding him of how he and Bucky acted around each other when they were younger. Prima slight smile seemed to convince Alicia as the subject was soon dropped.

"Returned to your duties," she barked, towards the four, still limping, knights. "And if I catch you attempting such foolishness again, it will be latrine duty for the entire castle for a month."

The four women saluted, before quickly vanishing out of the princess's sight, hoping to escape her wrath. Alicia turned her glare to Prim, who, Steve was happy to say did not falter from facing the older woman's stern look.

With the number of bodies effectively cut in half, the princess knight turned to the two of them once again. Prim, bless her heart stood up as tall as she could and held her cousins gaze for much longer then even she thought she could.

"Vera," the blonde said directed towards her companion, "I think it's time for Prim to report to her tutors for her afternoon lessons."

"But Alicia...," the small pinkette said, her small voice breaking slightly from the volume.

"Prim..." Alicia said, her once stern voice getting softer the more she looked at the young pink haired girl in front of her, before she steeled herself once more," You cannot waste the entire day wandering around the garden, your studies are important."

Whatever protest Prima was going to give died in her throat when Steve looked towards her. Steve knew Alicia wasn't his biggest fan, and that Prima was just trying to protect him from her cousin's wrath, but even Steve could see the validity of Alicia's words.

"It's okay Prim, you can go on to your studies." Steve said looking between her and Alicia." Your cousin and I have some things we need to talk about."

"But Sir Steven..."

"Don't give me that look," Steve said, seeing the utter disappointment on the pink haired girls face. "I'll tell you what, if you promise to go to your tutors, I'll take you out riding outside the city gates tomorrow."

"Do you promise!" She said, her face instantly brightening at the prospect of riding one of her prized horses once more. Alicia had made it clear that Prima would not be allowed to travel beyond the city gates without "proper supervision", and that meant being accompanied her Alicia herself. But with the workload placed on her shoulders since the war started, Alicia was far too busy, which meant Prim had little time to practice one of her favorite past times.

Steve looked towards Alicia, seeing her hesitant nod in agreement, it wouldn't do him any good to go over Alicia's head in regards to a member of her own family. But thankfully it seemed Alicia's love for Prima overrode her dislike of him.

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Steve said, running his index finger across his chest just as he used to do as a child. It seemed he said the magic words, as Prima obeyed her cousins request without further complaint, curtsying before departing with Vera following shortly after, a small smile plastered on her face as she walked.

Leaving Steve alone with the Princess Knight of Isis herself.

The two of them were silent for a moment, almost sizing one another up, and waiting for the other to speak first. Steve decided the silence was awkward enough without him helping, so he swallowed his pride and broke the silence.

"I'm guessing its bad news," Steve said. Alicia stiffened slightly but quickly relaxed. But Steve could read the tension in the young woman as easy as a penny novel.

She had spent the past few days going through whatever line of inquiry she could find in regards to potential traitors in the city, and from the displeased look on her face, Steve could see she didn't like what she had found.

She had kept many of her findings close to her chest, not trusting people with whatever evidence she found or even her suspicions of something wrong. The fact that she was coming to him, meant one thing.

The young knight turned towards him, her eyes serious but overflowing with an emotion Steve couldn't put his finger on.

"We have much to discuss."

* * *

Thanks for all the good wishes from the reviewers, its does my cold black loveless heart good knowing people are taking enjoyment out of this, if i were honest with myself, a "C+" at best piece of literature.

To answer some questions possed by some reviewers. No, none of the other Avengers will appear in this story. What I might do is make a side story or a one shot where other avengers show up in other hentais (Thor in angel blade, spiderman in Bible Black, etc...)but thats about it. that doesn't mean other Marvel charcters won'y appear later on, but they won't effect the story.

In regards to pairings, i'm alittle hesitant in making this a harem Fic. They can be fun and all to read, and lets be honest, a dude who looks like Chris Evans with super human abiliities, can have as many women as he wants. I don't think Steve is the type of guy to openly flirt and romance multiple women at once, but maybe i'll change my mind later as the story progresses.

Also, to the dude sending me PM's about how bad of a writer I am, you're not telling me anything i didn't know already. But hey, you do you.

Please Review. Please Favorite.


	6. Chapter 6

THE FOLLOWING IS A FAN BASED PARODY.

I OWN NOTHING ABOUT EITHER OF THESE PROPERTIES.

THEY ARE BOTH OWNED BY THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

PLEASE SUPPORT THE OFFICIAL RELEASE.

* * *

~Black fortress, Northern Eostia~

Kin adjusted his glasses for what had to have been the tenth time that evening and gave the cover of the many magical tomes in his arms a reassuring pat as he did so. A ridiculous superstition, he had heard mentioned by several of his comrades, but Kin found it strangely comforting knowing that the tools of his trade were close at hand.

Not that he needed it at the moment

A quick glance around the room confirmed there was no immediate threat to the king. Kin knew almost all of the men present by name or at the very least by their reputation and was confident that none of them would even dare to even try to bring harm to their master.

Not that any of these men could hope to harm, let alone kill the future high king of the continent even if one held ill intentions.

Vault sat perched on the former queen Olga's Black throne, watching the assembled men with a practiced eye. He emanated an aura of power and strength that only kings could process, as natural for him as it was for lesser man to take a breath, forcing the lesser men before him to bow and submit through sheer force of will and character.

Vault was a man destined to rule.

His king's smile was wide, almost reaching his ears as he pretended to laugh at one of the cruder japes one of his sergeants drunkenly told him, his powerful arm wrapped around the smaller man in celebration as he did so.

He wore his armor and riding leathers, forgoing the silks and ornate garments that the noble class of Eostia wore, showing to those in his inner circle and to the men who followed him that he was just like them, more of a warrior than a simple politician.

He sat against his throne, watching as his men partook in the spoils of their war. The food, drink, and women flowed into the waiting arms of his men as quickly as they could be used. Barrels of mead and wine were drunk to the last drop, platters of food consumed to the last morsel, and women were used until they couldn't be used anymore.

A shriek cut through the laughter around him and forced Kin to look away from Vault towards its source.

"We got a live one boy's." a man said to his fellow soldiers, laughter erupting louder than before as he hoisted the body of a struggling girl off the floor, her thrashing limbs trying desperately to escape her captors.

What's the point, Kin thought to himself, it's not like she was going to put a stop to what was happening.

She was one of the many who had been shipped to the black fortress on his master's command as entertainment for the evening, as he called it. But while most had been forced to accept their new lives as they were, this one seemed to still have some spark left in her.

Which meant it would take that much more effort and time to break her out of these misconceptions. The horrid sounds coming from her are certainly ruining the mood of the evening, Kin thought to himself, as he watched the men continue to touch and grope her, her screams making it seem like their hands were burning her and they continued to laugh at her feeble attempts at escape.

Rather pathetic, Kin thought himself, watching the scene unfold in front of him.

His King must have felt something similar as he stood up from his throne and made his way towards the assembled men. The laughter stopped for a moment as all eyes followed the massive form of their king, as vault made his presence known.

The woman, well girl seemed to be more accurate, if Kin was honest, fell to her knees.

"Please milord." she spoke in a broken whisper, her voice weak from her screams of protest." I have a family, I just want to go home."

Vault stared down at the young woman before him, staring at her in a way that reminded kin of a child staring at a caught butterfly on display. The image was broken however by his lord's sudden movement.

A swift kick sent the girl spiraling backward, blood dripping from her broken nose and mouth as she skidded away from the impact into the waiting and groping arms of the surrounding men.

"Oh, but sweet, sweet girl. You are home." Vault said as he stalked the disoriented woman, forcing her face to his boots as he stepped closer to her.

"We are all your fathers. Your Brothers. Your Sons. But we are especially all your husbands, and the sooner you realize this the better off you will be."

The laughter erupted again, as even Kin felt a smirk form on his face at the sight before once again Vault seemed to take hold of the assembled men's attention.

"Today is the day our conquest of this continents begins in full." His voice was loud and booming, loud enough to compel the mass of bodies to stop their drunken revelry.

The crowd roared in cheers, like some great beast declaring its intentions before a hunt. Kin watched how the men seemed to hang off of every word the man spoke as if he hung the stars in the sky and lifted the sun off the horizon out of sheer will.

When the sun rises over the horizon tomorrow the city of Feoh will be ours." He said with confidence. "it is but the first step we must take in truly shaping this world into my vision, but I trust with the men before me following me, it will be merely the first sunrise to a kingdom that will last 1,000 years."

The sea of men once again erupted into cheers, so loud and thunderous Kin half expected the vaulted ceiling of his lord's newly acquired fortress would crumble from the volume of the assembled men.

"So, lets us drink in honor to those men, our brothers in arms, who struck the first lethal blow against our enemies," the crowd lifted their drinks in toast, "Let us drink, in the memory of those who will not live long enough to see the great empire built on the foundation of the bodies of the weaklings who would stand against us."

Kin found himself cheering as well, much more subdued than his drunken comrades, but still far more than was his usual dispassionate self was accustomed to while in public.

His lord truly had a gift of inspiring those around him

Vault looked down at the girl before him, tears welling in her eyes as she stared up at her King, Kin wondered what was going through the women's mind at that moment, whether she began to understand her new place in the world as cattle, or if she still believed in some strange roundabout way that she could still escape her situation.

Vault, as if sensing the woman's unasked question, chose to answer.

He grabbed at her, hoisting her small body off the ground and lifting her up until she was staring into his eyes. She shook, like a rabbit finding itself in the maw of a wolf, before her body went limp. "you have some fight left in you I see, that's good." Vault said with a smile that Kin knew instantly wasn't as fake nor forced as the one Vault previously wore.

"There are few things in this world I take more joy in, then breaking women with fight left in them." His words seemed to strike her harder than his blow against her, but her tears were quickly drowned out by the cheers and jeers around her.

Kin looked on for a moment, before turning away from the scene. He had far more important business to attend to before the night was over.

And besides, he thought to himself, A king deserved to have some fun every once and awhile

* * *

~Several hours later, Feoh~

Monsters, Prime minister Meryn Augustus Beasley told himself, did not exist.

Monsters were simply things children and old women created from beasts and sounds in the dark, to haunt the dreams of children and common fools alike.

Orcs and goblins, while horrifying and deadly in their own unique ways, were not monsters. They were flesh and blood beasts chained to their basic instincts. Animals in every way but form and shape.

Beasts could be fearsome, yes, but beasts could be culled or tamed with enough time and effort. Even great beasts like dragons could be tamed, as the legendary dragon knights of old could attest to, but they had long since vanished from the world besides.

Monsters did not exist, but the man that could be his downfall stalked the streets of Feoh regardless of what he believed did.

He did not know if any of the rumors were true, let alone if all of them were true. All that he knew was that the strange man who had joined the lady Alicia in her return to the city was a foreigner and that he had seemed to follow her whenever she went like some sort of lost puppy.

He would have found it funny if he didn't find it so pathetic. A man who could turn the skull of an orc into dust with his bare hands? A man who could shatter stone walls with a mighty punch? Resorted to be the lapdog of a pompous and spoiled girl like Alicia?

He could remember a time where he could laugh himself to sleep at the very thought of it.

But that seemed like such a long time ago now. In a time when he wasn't forced to huddle in the darkened hallways of his family estate listening to sounds of an army, HIS army, be completely decimated and overpowered, By Alicia Arcturus and her pet foreigner.

He stood silent, as his remaining conspirators, those who have not been killed or captured, spoke in barely contained frustration, their voices overshadowed by the beating of war drums and the thunderous roar of war horns from the outside world.

Their faces were ashen pale and distraught, the men who were fortunate enough not to have been a part of the fighting that continued to rage outside the walls of Beaslys family estate were hollow and colorless, more like ghosts then mortal men. The soldiers and mercenaries among them, those fortunate enough to escape the slaughter that faced their comrades, were covered in blood, both theirs and their comrades, and carried their broken bodies with the gait of defeated men.

"A deception," a senior councilman, one of the few Beasly trusted enough to share some of his plans with said, his gaunt figure shaking trying to be loader then the war horns blaring from outside. " It must be some sort of trick; the whore is trying to trick us into surrendering without a fight."

"without a fight?" a mercenary, a dark-haired man who looked as if he had run face first into a stone wall, spoke through broken teeth. "hundreds of my men are out there dying at the hands of some monster dressed in the skin of a man."

Monsters did not exist, he found himself thinking again, like a silent prayer to whatever god would listen, as whatever was left of his conspirators continued to bicker amongst themselves like children.

"We don't have much time left." the mercenary said," We'll be found out soon, and when that happens, they'll flay us alive without question."

"You suggest we run like simple cowards!" the gaunt nobleman said strongly, far too strong for a man who had never seen a battlefield before today let alone fought in one, Beasly thought to himself. The mercenary seemed to share the sentiment as he stepped closer to the pampered noble, causing the skinnier man to back take a step away from the injured soldier.

"If you speak another word to me with that tone, I'll slice those fat lips right off your face and shove them right down your throat." The mercenary said as he glowered at the older man, who did his best to try and not faint on the spot from the threat against his life.

"We cannot and will not abandon this city," Sir Walton, a middle-aged knight who had been in the services of Beaslys family for decades spoke," we are not the gutless cowards you sell swords seem to be, ready to drop our weapons at the first sign of resistance we face on the battlefield."

"First sign of resistance?" another one of the mercenaries, his face a myriad of scarred and bruised flesh spoke, "They have a fucking War God on their side!"

Colorful language aside, it seemed many before him held similar opinions to the brutish man.

The worn faces on his subordinates spoke louder than any words they could choose. They were more fragile than they once looked, like once great and powerful oak trees now left hollow and decrepit. Looking as if a single breeze would be enough to topple them over, let alone whatever monster Alicia had summoned from the deepest pits of hell.

Monsters, he found himself saying again, did not exist.

"Gentlemen." Beasly said, his voice having more of its usual vigor then his inner thoughts would suggest, "The time wasted scrabbling amongst ourselves like children and women, the less time we will have of securing our freedom from the castle's dungeons."

The men looked at him with varying degrees of disbelief. Some, those who had faced battle and known what manner of man they faced was far less optimistic than their less battle-hardened companions, looked at him in barely contained vexation, while others looked to him with what he could only assume was a shimmering hope.

"With all due respect my lord, but how do you expect to save our lives without Vaults army." sir Walton asked, his eyes shifting to the remaining members of the Kuroinu that littered the room

"I am still a man with great resources at his disposal."

"All the copper and gold from all the whores who ever lived won't save you from that thing from killing us, you old fool." one mercenary said, despite the crudeness of his speech there didn't seem much anger or heat in his words, his voice sounding like it was on the verge of tears.

"Shut your dirty mouth!" Walton cursed back, "This is the Lord Prime minister you're squawking at!"

"Yeah but for how much longer?" Came the muted response.

Ordinarily, the prime minister would have had the man dismembered for such an insult, but he had neither the time nor inclination for such a thing. His main priority was reaching his private study and destroying whatever piece of evidence linking him to this disastrous rebellion he could get his hands on.

But first, he thought to himself, it's time to play a little theater for the commoners

"Walton, take as many men as you can find and barricade ever entrance to the estate you can find." Beasly said trying to command what few pieces he still had on the board to his advantage, "send a handful of men to the outer gates, order them to make a show of helping as many civilians as possible."

Seeing the confused looks of the men in front of him would have caused the elder statesmen to react in a manner that did not befit a man of his position.

I am surrounded by fools and simpletons, He thought as he ground his teeth in an attempt to keep his anger in check.

"We need witnesses seeing our work towards the defense of the city, whatever it takes we cannot allow our loyalty to the crown to be in doubt."

The men before him finally seemed to catch on to his plan, their faces regaining some of their lost colors as they moved to their positions. While it was true, his plan was not a true guarantee of success, it would at the very least allow him to cover up his part in the conspiracy and grant him the time he would need to make his escape from the city in the ongoing chaos.

While most of his men rushed to their positions to play their part in Beasley's ruse, one man seemed to stay where he stood. Beasly had known Sir Walton for years since the grey in his hair was still a deep shade of brown and he still walked with the gait of a green squire, so it didn't surprise Beasly to see the worry in the knight's eyes as he spoke.

"My lord," Walton's voice was devoid of emotion as he spoke," Are you sure your plan will work? Do you think the Princess would be so foolish to believe such a mummer play in spite of everything that has happened today?"

Beasly stood silent for a moment remembering the day the daughter of his best friend and king was born. And how he watched that same baby grow over the next 20 years into the spitting image of the woman who haunted his dreams and thoughts to this very day.

"I've known that girl since she came out of her whore mother's cunt." Beasly said every ounce of frustration and anger he felt towards the only child of the king known to any who listened, "The only thing more foolish then her own sense of honor is that she foolishly believes others hold their honor to the same regard as she does hers."

The knight nodded his head as if mentally coming to terms with something, before he saluted and joined the others, Leaving Beasly to begin his planning's alone.

I can still salvage this mess

He reached the door to his solar and entered briskly. The loud sound of horns from the battle accompanying him, echoing off the red-stone walls like a thousand shouts. No guards stood outside his chambers, of course, they had been reassigned to more important tasks long ago. His own household guards, or what was left of his household guards, stood to watch at the gates of his family estate.

Not that they would be much use after today

He moved to his desk and riffled the scrolls set on the fine wooden surface before him. He dislodged the pile but found a document he was looking for. A coded message he intended to send to Vaults court wizard Kin, pertaining to his future in ruling Feoh in vaults name after the war had come to an end.

Minutes passed like hours, as the pile of parchment grew larger and larger as the fire of his hearth grew in size and heat. Encoded messages to and from members of the Kuroinu leadership, Pieces of blackmail materials he used to control members of the Feoh government who would not willingly join him in his plans, entire books, and ledgers filled with the names of men on his payroll, men located through every level of society.

From some of the most senior members of the city council to the hierarchy of the clergy to the leadership of the Feoh military and city guard to some of the most prominent members of the merchant's guild. Books upon books of some of the most powerful men in the city and proof of all of their deepest darkest secrets littered his desk. Enough parchment and ink to overthrow a dozen families and noble houses all across the continent and more than enough to secure a traitors death for any man whose name was written in them.

Before Beasly could act on his planes, however, he was struck by the sounds of the battle outside his estate. Specifically the fact that he didn't hear anything.

Abruptly the horns outside had stopped. The sounds of clashing steel had become muted and subdued. The silence was eerie, almost oppressive, to the nobleman as he refilled his wine in an attempt to calm his nerves.

So, the battle is over.

Truth be told, he had known the battle was over the instant the foreigner, who had attached himself to the princesses, had broken through the barricaded church, saving the captured nuns and noble women from the assortment of orcs and goblins that Vault had given to him for his task. His eyes had widened as a green-skinned giant was thrown over the barricade like a leaf caught in the wind before crushing back to the ground and crushing half a dozen mercenaries to death.

Monsters, he again told himself, did not exist.

He didn't wait to see what was to happen next, he knew it was no longer safe for him to be out in the open, if his Machinations were discovered, his life would mean less than that of a common goblin.

It did not take a genius to realize that at that point the battle of Feoh had failed and that whatever forces the Kuroinu had left in the city were either fleeing for their lives or already surrendering in hopes of receiving mercy from their captors.

Fools, he thought to himself, there is no mercy in war

Cold fury took him. All of his careful plans, all of his aspirations for this city's future. All up in smoke due to the incompetence of those he surrounded himself with.

"It was not supposed to be this way! "he thought to himself in rage, slamming a sweaty palm on to the desk, leaving a greasy stain on the oak surface and sending some lose letters falling to the floor.

"My father told me you always did have a temper, I thought you would learn to conceal it in your old age."

He whirled to find the source of the noise, his swollen belly smacking into the desk causing some wine in his goblet to spill over his hand. He squinted at the intruder. The smoke filling from his fire momentarily blurring his vision, making it difficult to see who had dared to enter his quarters without his permission.

"You?" He gasped, surprise giving way to anger, then quickly being replaced with an unbridled fear the more he stared at the face of his visitor.

Lady Alicia stood in front of him, her usual pristine appearance marred by blood and the grime of battle, but her eyes never seemed to waver. If Beasly didn't know any better he would say she finally looked like the warrior she had tried so desperately to be for years, and not the scared useless little girl she was.

She stepped out fully from the hallway he himself entered through. Flanked by two of her sworn swords on either side of her. Why the halfwits stationed at his gate would allow her entrance into his estate without his knowledge or consent was beyond him, but it seemed to be the lesser of the growing lists of problems facing him at the moment.

"I thought it was the time that you and I had a little talk." The blonde princess spoke, her voice a strange mix of calmness and nonchalant air he had never expected to hear from the hotheaded woman in front of him.

Meryn Augustus Beasly. Prime minister of the Ancient city-state of Feoh and elder statesmen of the noble council looked quizzically at the woman. "In case you haven't noticed the city is under attack by the forces of Vault and his black dogs!"

"Rest assured Lord Beasly" Varys walked further into the room and sat down in a chair opposite Beaslys own. "The city is under control; a few moments of time here will not hinder my forces ability to eliminate the threats to our kingdom."

Lord Beasly was thinking fast as he rounded the table and sat down, the heavy wood of the chair straining under his considerable bulk. "Is this really the time for this? There is a battle going on outside."

"Oh, I believe it's a perfect time my lord," Alicia said softly, too softly for someone like her in the situation she found herself in "In fact, I would go as far as to say that us talking has come far too late. If we had discussed matters earlier, we might have saved the thousands of dead that now litter the ground around the city."

She knows?!

His inner thoughts seemed to have shown on his face, as the two warriors rested their hands on the pommel of their swords. The look on their faces promising a swift death if he made the wrong move while in the presence of their lady.

The room became silent, the sounds of isolated skirmishes from his outside his window as far away from his mind as his chances of escaping with his life.

"I do not seem to understand your words my lady," Beasley said, taking another sip of his wine in a vain attempt to settle his nerves. The tremor in his hands showing he had no such luck.

"You know very well what I'm referring to," Alicia said, a slight frown creasing her face, the first true sign of emotion the woman showed since entering his private chamber.

Beasley decided to feign ignorance. It was True Lady Alicia was not showing her characteristic hot-headedness nor her usual level of blind righteousness, but even so, she was still the same little girl he'd known for years, the same girl who would rush into stupid mistakes if she thought she was in the moral right like a blind fool.

He gave a wry laugh, "I assure you, my lady, I have no earthly idea what you're talking about."

"Come now my lord" Alicia replied, spitting the name of his title like poison from her mouth, "The hour grows late and I still have dozens of men to be formally charged with treason before the night is over. Let us have no more pretense between us."

Beasley glanced quickly out of the study balcony window, where the sun was still streaming down onto the cityscape below. If his men had seen Alicia enter through the front gate, then they must have known what they must do.

All he had to do was hold her off as long as he could.

He was nervous, that much he knew was evident to everyone who could see him, but he hoped they would assume the sweat glistening on his forehead was caused by the blistering fire blazing behind him and not from his increasing heartbeat, "I'm sorry but I do not. Your words puzzle me."

"Puzzle you?" Alicia said with a frown, her voice raising a slight octave as she spoke and for a second, she was the same impetuous child he knew her to be. The same girl who would bluster and rant at the slightest challenge of her authority and position. But to Beasly surprise and disappointment, the moment passed and Alicia regained her new-found aloofness.

"Well allow me to be as brief and as plain as I can be, "she said as she raised a coin purse from her belt." Do you know what my father always said about finding corruption within the lower ranks?"

Beasly was silent for a moment, instead of answering, using every ounce of strength in his body to keep his face as impassive and emotionless as he could.

"you look for men who have money they shouldn't be able to have."

"M-money?" Beasley said, his voice cracking slightly as his brain slowly realized his plans were unraveling.

"Of course," Alicia said with faked wide-eyed innocence, looking more like her young cousin Prim then the stern warrior she fancied herself. "You should know more than anyone else the state of the city watch, you were the cause of most of it. After months under your command, the city Guard is one step removed from common sellswords. Most of your men would sell their own mothers for a bent copper. The idea of being paid to remove those who knew too much would not faze them."

"You have evidence!?"Beasley asked, his tone erratic."Or is this a just another excuse to hear your own voice speak?"

"Circumstantial evidence to be sure," Alicia answered, "However, for members of the City Watch it would seem that one or two of the group have suddenly come into some riches. My father makes it a point to pay those in service to this city well, but not That well." she said tossing a gemstone the size and color of a plum onto his table, the same gemstone he used to secure the loyalty of several of the guardsmen from around the city.

"so, you could imagine my surprise when one of the city watchmen hired under your direct orders used this very stone to peruse the most expensive brothel in the city."

Damn them, they were warned to be careful with the money.

"Rest assured, all the men were captured before the attack accrued, and told us everything they knew. you'd be surprised about the thing's men like them would say to save their own skin.

"So, this was it then?" Beasly thought to himself his body shaking, form fear or anger he couldn't say confidently for he felt equal amounts surge through him at the moment. Beasly could hardly take the smug look on the woman's face for much longer. He held up his hands in mock entreaty,

"Very well! I surrender! Take me into your custody, imprison me. Do what you will." he spoke loud and exaggerated, looking and sounding less like a man about to come to terms with his end with dignity and more like a stage performance of an actor portraying a man about to come to terms with his end with dignity poorly.

They stared at one another for several moments, neither group budging an inch from their spots. For Beasley, it was confusion that kept him frozen. Surely his men would have known that if Lady Alicia was here then their plot was uncovered and that their lives would be forfeit if the Princess Knight was allowed to leave alive.

So why hadn't they attacked?

He was sure he had distracted the arrogant princess long enough for what remained of his forces to convene to his study and apprehend his visitors. While many of the men still under his command were tired and injured from battle, they easily outnumbered Alicia and her guards nearly ten to one, and with the element of surprise on their side, the princess of Feoh stood no chance of survival.

...So where were they.

It seemed his visitor knew more than he did on the subject

"Did you really think your mad dogs will be able to save you?" She said confidently as if she could read his very thoughts with a glance.

The shock and confusion on his face must have been clear to the world if that damn smile on her face was any indication. Even the two guards that accompanied her covered their mouths with their hands in an attempt to hide their laughter.

The sheer fact that he was being mocked by lowly knights, glorified babysitters, was enough to make lose all sense of himself and lash out, but he controlled himself. But the grinding of his teeth was a clear enough sign that it was a great effort for him.

"You didn't think your men would have just let me walk into your estate with armed guards did you?" She said with the mirth of a chess master seeing her opponent's next move before they had made it. "The men in your employ may be rats but even rats will fight when they are cornered."

As she spoke, Beasley felt his arms grow heavier and heavier, until they hung limply to his sides. The realization hit him hard, the remnants of his men were being cut down under his very nose, in his own home, while he was being talked down to by...this...stupid...little...CUNT!

"I would have granted them mercy, had they stood down." Alicia said staring down the old man," A fair trial and punishment that fit the crimes committed against my people, but it seemed most had preferred to save whatever little honor they have left by dying a warriors death."

The way she spoke reminded Beasly of Alicia's father, simple and matter of fact, it almost seemed Alicia was a decade older then she was several days ago. Either that or she was speaking words given to her by another, which seemed just as impossible.

"Unfortunately for them, a warrior's death is far too good for dogs who would rape and kill for the sake of their own sense of entitlement."

Something in him snapped, as whatever fear was in his body was suddenly replaced with pure unadulterated loathing at the woman in front of him.

"I ordered their lives to be spared, but I fear they are in no condition to save..."

"You Stupid, arrogant cow," Beasly screamed, his voice breaking from the strain, sounding more like a wounded animal than a man, as he pulled out the crossbow he kept on his person at all times. It was small and ornate, with a single bolt locked, loaded and ready to be fired. Though a single shot was not enough to alter his fate, it was certainly enough to enact his revenge on the woman who brought about his downfall.

"I don't care if my life is forfeited. if I am to meet the gods I will make sure to take you with me! "He said, his voice hoarse from anger as he stared down at the three women before him. The two swordswomen unsheathed their weapons, either in an attempt to protect their lady from harm or in an attempt to put an end to him Beasly didn't know nor did he care.

All he cared about was wiping that smirk off the Princess knights face.

"I would spare you any pain, as a final favor to your father, not that a show like you deserves such a painless death. The bolt was smeared with enough poison to kill an Orc. I dare say it would be merciful compared to the life you would have lived after the war is over."

If Beaslys life was over, truly over, He would have the satisfaction of knowing he took the life of the daughter of the woman who spurned him all those years ago. Her end may not have been what she truly deserved, but it was enough to give Beasly peace in his final moments.

But still, Alicia continued to smile, the sly smile that belonged to a woman who knew the answer to a question that hadn't yet been asked. Despite their unsheathed weapons, her bodyguard made no attempt to make a move towards him, instead glancing towards the wide glass doors of his balcony, almost as if they were waiting for something...

"My lord," Alicia said, her tone far more serious and far colder than she previously spoke with. "I regret to inform you that my life does not belong to you and that while you may live to see the sunset tomorrow, your fate was sealed the moment you allied yourself with our enemies."

His blood turned to ice, and his eyes slowly turned to the balcony right before it erupted into an explosion of broken glass and shattered wood. His eyes widened, as a body came flying through the broken glass window, the broken body of one of his remaining household guards landing with a wet thud against the polished stone floor.

"I wished I could say I'm sorry it had to come to this, but that would be a lie."

He peered through the thin veil of smoke that had filled the room since this conversation started as if half-expecting to see Death in every corner of the room. He could hear footsteps on the floor, but he saw nothing but air. Shadows crept across the room, and now they seemed to hide the creature from sight.

He opened his mouth as if to call out a threat or plea for mercy before he felt the sensation of his feet leavening the floor. He would have would have screamed for his life if he didn't feel the air leave his lungs as a massive hand wrapped itself around his neck and slammed him atop his oak desk. He would have used the crossbow in his hand, either on his assailant or on the still smug looking Alicia looking on if he hadn't felt every bone in his hand break and shatter in his assailant's grip, his arm twisted and contorted in ways the gods didn't intend a mans limb to twist or contort.

Pain, beyond his imagination, override every one of his senses as he tried in vain to regain his ability to breath, heaving, and huffing through broken ribs and burning lungs. It was at that moment Beaslyrealizedd just how wrong he was.

Monsters did exist. And this one held the body of a man.

"Sir Steven," Alicia said, her tone formal and professional, but far less cold then when she spoke to Beasley, "I see you have arrived"

"Alicia." came the simple response, ignoring the pained whines of the man below him as he grabbed the now discarded crossbow before shattering the weapon in the same hand that ruined the prime minister's appendage.

"I see you're making it a habit of being late to meeting me."

"Yeah well..." Steve Rogers said gesturing outside the now destroyed balcony, where the dozen or so members of what remained of Beasly household guard littered the bloody grass.

"...I had some things I needed to take care of."

* * *

I'm a little teapot short and stout here is my story please follow, review and like.


	7. Historical Intermission 1

_**Extract from the play "The**_ **Last** _ **Avenger", penned by Arianne**_ _ **Euterpe**_

Act:2 Scene:3

King Arcturus, sorrowful: Though the cities fate is most dire, I cannot allow my daughter, my only child and future queen of my kingdom, throw herself into the fires of war

Alicia Arcturus, determined and resolute: How could I call myself queen when my people suffer and I refuse to fight? How could I stay safe behind these walls while my people suffer?

 _Notes scribbled in the margin: Perhaps we should offer Mary a permanent position as Alicia, as her Prim has lost much of her believability as she has gotten older._

Prim Fiorire, shocked and confused: But why must you fight this battle, good Sir? This is not your fight, these are not your people, and if my cousin's life were to end the future of Feoh will be most dire.

Sir Steven Rogers, heroically: For honor's sake will I fight. For the good of the people who call this land home. The knowledge that I had stood against the tide of evil and Sin is the only reward I need.

Alicia Arcturus, solemn: If my crown forbids that I protect my city, then let love triumph and crown be damned. Queen, I may be till my death, but tender feeling rules us all and the grave is no end to my passion.

Alicia Arcturus tosses the crown to Prim.

Alicia Arcturus, wise: Be you Queen then my cousin, for if my death is destined this day, your gentle hand will be needed to rule our home in my stead. Let honor alone be my crown, and all the gods be my witness.

Prim Fiorire, respectful and kind: I will dear cousin rule in your name until you return from the chaos of war. I will wait with bated breath for the crown will be worn uneasily until your return

Sir Steven Rogers, turns and places Alicia's hands into his own: Then lets us fly and show these wolves the folly of their lives work, and send them to meet their gods without haste.

Exit Alicia Arcturus and Steven Rogers.

King Arcturus, Whispering: May the gods show favor to those who would face these monsters without a moment's hesitation.

 _Notes scribbled in the margin: Replace that drunkard Victor as king! he has ONCE AGAIN missed out on yet another performance and this part is far too important to be given to someone so unreliable! also, could you tell Jon he must lose a few stones if he is to keep playing Sir Steven. He is supposed to be built like an ox, not like a cow!"_

* * *

 _ **Extract from Joffery Lancastles controversial work "The Black dogs of the White City"**_

Historians must be men of reason and not be encouraged to write of fancies or conjecture, but we are men still. One must only look at the troubles of the past decades to wonder if a better world and a better realm might not have been forged, should but a few blades have swung where they did not.

Had Sir Steven Rogers, a legend he may be, not stormed the ancestral walls of House Beasly and had instead chosen another family to become the scapegoat for the incompetence of the Arcturus princess, we may perhaps not face the political strife we face today.

Had Alicia Arcturus not ascended the Throne of her father at such a desperate time, would the continent at large, let alone Feoh specifically, have been spared such turmoil? The wonton disrespect that the crown has shown the Noble families of Feoh over the years following the "Kuroinu Rebellion" has had an immeasurable effect on the social as well as the political climate of the country.

The council of nobles, once a powerful and influential arm of the Feoh Government, one that had served the people for hundreds of years, has slowly but surely been stripped and replaced by the representatives of the unwashed and uneducated.

Far too much power has been stripped from those of Noble birth, from those with who have proven their abilities and superior blood, and given to the peasant class.

The mud racking of Lord Beasley's character as well as his family assets being seized by the crown was but an excuse, a conspirousy formed by an inexperienced ruler to rob power from those around her for selfish need, and we all have suffered for it.

 _In response to the allegations made, the ruling family of Feoh has not made a public response but according to some sources denounces the collective work of Lancaster as" disrespectful" and "on the level slightly above the ravings of a mad man."_

 _The reaction of the common people was similar, as massive protests erupted outside the headquarters of the Lancastle Publishing House. While many feared violence would erupt due to the heated words by those on both sides of the argument, the protest was viewed as relatively peaceful by those who saw it._

 _The public admissions of his opinions of those of the Kuroinu, especially that of Meyrn Beasley and the self-proclaimed King Vault, as unjustly "villainized" has caused Lancastle not only a great many public scandals but those of a personal matter as well._

 _Lady Beatrice Arc, Heiress of the Great Arc trading company publicly ended her engagement to Lancastle, In a statement, she was quoted as calling his opinions on both the amount of power of the common citizens of Feoh as well as women specifically in society as "beliefs that should have been left to die alongside the rebellion."_

* * *

 _ **Private correspondence between Professor Armen Carrolton, head of the Ken historical society and former dean of students at the Ken college of history and Doctor Robert Kingsman, professor of history and political theory at the Royal Academy of Feoh**_

Professor Armen:  
"You are an ignorant fool and your work clear plagiarism of my work "The eighth shield". Even your purported title is sheer stupidity. There was no 'sword of the white star'. Every child off the street will tell you Sir Steven never wielded a sword in any of the battles he fought in."

Professor Robert:  
"History belongs to no man, you senile old bat! You might have gotten your degree by sucking Preston's cock but I earned mine by merit. There's a dozen plays calling him by this title all across the continent, one of which I will remind you was written by the daughter of a man who fought along-side Sir Rogers at the battle Feoh!"

Professor Armen:  
"No woman could have ever written something as stirring as 'The Last Avenger'. It is just a sad attempt to increase tourist travel to Feoh during "The Festival of the white star" and you know it as well as I. It is fitting you take your title from mummers, though, for your book will be nothing but a joke when viewed against mine."

Professor Robert:  
"At least people will read mine you pompous old bastard. Wading through your pages is like getting buggered by a too-talkative goat. I've met the girl and she has a man's wits, it was her that penned the play. As for your pride, all I have to write is that Arianne called your work derivative, and I quote "only impressive by that fact that he managed to make the life of Steve Rogers too boring to read!"."

 _32 C.E: Professor Armen initiatives a motion to strip Professor Robert of his position for 'behavior unbecoming of an educator', Stephanie Lavantyne refuses to comment publicly, but privately attends a showing of the "Last Avenger" at the Royal Ken theater with her several of her children._

* * *

And now for something completely different

 **~La Blue Girl: Along cum a Spider~**

Peter Parker was in trouble

Like Big Trouble

Like dropping the take-home test from Mr. Armstrongs AP chemistry class into the Hudson River while fighting the scorpion type of big trouble.

Or Like accidentally blowing up Aunt Mays kitchen while testing out his prototype stun bombs type of trouble.

But somehow it felt like it was even worse than that.

Once again, the legendary Parker luck had taken one good look at him and thrown everything it could think off at him without a single thought of everything that he had been going through the past few days.

One moment he was fighting alongside the Avengers against the giant purple alien death god destroying the universe, the next moment he was waking up in some strange city in what he assumed was somewhere in Japan without any money, any forms of identification or even a normal set of clothes. And considering the tattered remains of his spider suit that barely hung over his frame, this last bit was going to be a bit of a problem to deal with.

Which was why he "borrowed" a set of clothes that looked to be about his size he had found hanging off a laundry line. Sure, it was wrong to take someone else's property without asking first, but what was he going to do? Ask a stranger to borrow their clothes while only wearing a mask?

Besides he justified it to himself, he probably needed more than whatever guy he may have stolen it from did.

...Borrowed... that's what he did. He borrowed it. He didn't steal, heroes didn't steal, and even if he's in a weird city on the opposite side of the word, Spiderman was a hero.

...Which is how he managed to get into such hot water so quickly.

Less than 24 hours after getting thrown into the black hole the Purple monster had made with that blinged out gauntlet appear over Avengers Tower and now here he was fighting something that looked like, well if he had to guess, looked like a cross between Donkey Kong and a Kraken, all the while dressed like a Japanese schoolboy.

Like seriously, could he maybe have a normal day to get him used to his new surroundings before something weird happened? Was that too much to ask?

It certainly didn't help that those tentacles were getting a little too friendly with anything and anybody it touched. He'll never look at calamari the same way again.

Unfortunately for him, however, he found that he wasn't the first to decide to try and stop the things rampage. The girl looked young, and that said allot considering he was pretty sure he hadn't fully escaped the perils of puberty just yet.

...the fact that she spoke like a Saturday morning cartoon while looking like a cosplayer didn't exactly help her cause.

But hell, she was good. Like really good. So good in fact Peter wasn't sure he needed to jump into the fray just yet.

She jumped and dodged like she was a trained ninja, throwing bladed weapons from seemingly nowhere whenever she saw an opening.

...wait was she a ninja?

Did ninjas really wear stuff like that? He expected all-black garb and face masks, not black Leggings, a green blouse, and giant pink bows.

Man was that disappointing.

She was doing well until like most crime fighters her age (he should know considering she looked to be the same age as he was) she got cocky. A tentacle had somehow gotten behind her without her knowledge and swiped at her from behind, smashing her against the back of her head and sending her crashing into the ground

The ninja girl was hoisted off the ground by her leg, the unfortunate pair of black leggings she wore was torn and ripped by the barbed tentacle showing off her...

No, no, no,nonononononononononono, he was not looking at that. He was not thinking about that. It didn't matter what he could see or not see at the moment and it certainly didn't matter that the girl in question was very attractive...

NO!

He had to do something, and if that meant fighting off a monster to save a girl from being violated without the use of his superhero persona then so be it. Thankfully he still had some web fluid he had saved, just for emergencies like this.

Well not specifically emergency's like this but you get the point.

Which brings us to the part of the story when Peter Parker, The friendly Neighborhood Spiderman from Queens was now standing in his now tattered borrowed school uniform, while holding a girl with long flowing purple hair tied in the biggest pink bow he'd ever seen on a person that wasn't in a Japanese anime, bridal style on top of the monstrous form of the villain he had just defeated, Pieces of the burning and wrecked car he had used to bludgeon the beast into submission littering the street

She looked at him with her big brown eyes like how Peter assumed a kid would look on Christmas day, as he easily carried her onto the sidewalk and placed her on the ground.

"That was a close one," Peter said, ripping a piece of his tattered uniform (he'll definitely need to replace the uniform now) and using it as a makeshift bandage on the girl's ankle, the same ankle that the monster's tentacle had wrapped around. Using every shred of will power he processed to not have his eyes travel further up.

She looked at him with some confusion, before she realized he had spoken in English. She must have been smart, as only after a moment of pause she answered him in perfect if not a little broken English.

"Thank you so much! But who are you?" she said in a soft yet excited voice, as she watched the body of the monster slowly fade away into strange black mist. An action that shocked Peter when he saw it, but if he went by the girl's reaction, this must have been a normal occurrence "And how did you do that?"

Because it didn't matter if you were a female ninja fighting off a tentacle monster in the middle of downtown and that was your definition of normal, if you see a guy you've never seen before swing around buildings and slam a car onto the head of a bad guy who was in the middle of groping you, you were bound to have questions.

Peter decided it was in his best interest to be as honest as he could be, considering his current situation. Heck, maybe his new friend would be able to repay the favor and help him out?

"My names Peter Parker, I'm... not from around here," he said with a smile, laughing slightly to himself at the bright red face the girl had. The fight, Peter reasoned, must have taken a lot more out of her then he had originally thought. Either that or her grasp of the English language wasn't as good as he had hoped, and he had said something to embarrass the girl.

Just his luck.

Whatever the issue was, she recovered quickly enough.

"I'm Miko Mido, Kunoichi of Justice and master Sex Ninja, at your service!"

...did... did he just hear that? no, he couldn't have heard what he thought he heard. It must have been another one of those weird miscommunications people have when dealing with a language barrier.

Peter smiled, a bit more awkwardly then he would have liked but hey, he was trying his best here "Well it's nice to meet you Miko, I'm glad I was able to help you in time, I-I don't want to think about what would have happened if I wasn't quick enough."

...yeah that... could have been bad. The way those tentacles were grabbing at the young women's body made him feel sick, it certainly made him a little angry at himself for not stepping in to help at the beginning of the fight.

But despite the horror of the situation, Miko seemed to take it in stride, which impressed and horrified Peter in almost equal measure. She got close to him, far closer than he may have been used to with a girl his own age before. So close he was sure he could pick the lavender and vanilla perfume she wore out of a lineup if he had to.

...Not like he was purposely smelling her of course, he just had a great sense of smell is all.

"You saved my life Peter-San, how could I possibly repay you?" she said, her voice dropping an octave like she was telling him a secret she didn't want the world to know.

Maybe it was a ninja thing. They certainly seemed like the type to be secret about things like that. Or maybe it was the fact that he was a boy wearing tattered clothing, and she was a girl not wearing anything below her waist besides her underwear.

Oh god, he thought about it again.

"There's nothing to repay," Peter said, quickly shooting his eyes away from the girl in front of him in hopes not to say or do something that would cause either of them further embarrassment. "I was just happy to help."

She grabbed at his hands, her small digits having a surprising amount of strength in them as she pulled him close to her.

"Will you always be there to save me if I need it?" she asked, her eyes shining like literal stars as she spoke.

Now Pete was confused. Sure he would, I mean he was a hero after all, or at the very least was trying his very best to be a hero. So of course, if he saw this girl in need of help again, he would help without question.

That's what she was asking about, right?

"uh yeah," Peter was cut off before he could finish his thought as he was enveloped into the sweet embrace by the girl as she cried tears of joys at his answer.

"This is the happiest day of my life!" the girl shouted, her voice slightly muffled by the contact between her face and his bare chest. Peter stood silent and still, trying in vain to understand what she was saying and why she was saying it.

Which brings us to the part of the story when Peter Parker, the friendly Neighborhood Spiderman, found himself in an enormous Japanese castle in the middle of the woods, being paraded by his new friend for the benefit of what he assumed was the devil.

He was huge, well over 7-foot-tall and built like Thor, with skin as blue as a smurf and hair that looked like it belonged to a B movie action star from the '90s, the two horns that sprouted from either side of his neck topped the look off, giving him an almost Noble demon vibe about him. All and all, he wasn't the scariest looking dude Peter had ever met who looked like he wanted to kill him, but he certainly was the scariest dude Peter had met since he was transported to this weird city.

"And What exactly are your intentions stepping foot into my home, with young Miko?" he said in a growl, sounding exactly how Peter assumed he would, as he stared down from his throne, A LITTERAL THRONE, like a shogun would in old school samurai flicks.

Now he wasn't an expert in Japanese, not like his buddy Ned who had taught himself the language when he was 13 after watching every anime he could get his hands on, but Peter liked to think he could hold his own in a conversation if he needed to.

Unfortunately for him, he gravely overestimated these abilities.

The fact that he was being watched by dozens of shadowy figures surrounding him didn't exactly help his confidence.

"...mmmm" he intelligently said sending sideway glances to Miko, hoping she would realize how just how in over his head he was, but it seemed to be almost impossible to get the smile off of her face.

He could still remember the advice Mr. Stark once gave him. "Remember kid, the best lies always have a grain of truth in them, but if you can't use the truth just use as many lies as you can, hide your lies under more lies and hope for the best."

He sounded so confident, Peter couldn't help but believe in him.

"Um well Sir that is a very interesting question," Peter said, stalling as best he could and trying not to anger the enormous blue monster who sat in front of him until he got an idea. A devious idea.

Peter got a wonderful, devious idea.

"but I fear my grasp on Japanese is limited and I wish not to say something that would cause offense to you in your own home while as a guest," he said, desperately trying to remember every shred of the Japanese language he could glean from his freshmen language class and all of the poorly translated JRPG's that littered his bedroom floor over the years.

Thankfully it worked, the Jolly blue giant seemed to accept the answer. In fact, if his body language was anything like a person, which why wouldn't it be right? It almost seemed like a look of approval appeared on its horned face.

...huh

The giant man turned towards Peters companion, its voice while still as deep and commanding as it was before, now seemed to carry an almost familiar warmness that reminded Peter of the tone of voice his Uncle Ben spoke with him when giving him life advice.

Rapid fire Japanese was spoken between the small teenager and monstrous man, and even when staring down the great bulk of the giant before her, the girl kept the same animated and excited speech pattern she had used since meeting Peter several hours prior. Heck, he didn't even know a person could say so many syllables so fast without their lips catching fire.

Then Peter noticed something off.

Not off as in a bad thing, But off as in a very confusing thing.

The people around them, people who peter assumed were either related to his new friend in some way shape or form, were smiling at him. It wasn't a sarcastic smirk of someone waiting for something bad to happen to him. It certainly wasn't the fake plastered on smile of someone who didn't want to be there but had been forced against their will to attend.

But true honest to god smiles.

Directed at the girl to his left...and towards him.

...wait

So, confused and out of it was Peter that when his new friend Miko slipped her hands into his own he didn't exactly realize what was happening. It wasn't until everyone in the room had erupted with applauds and that little guy who seemed to follow him around for some reason had started crying like a proud parent watching their child take their first steps had Peter finally realized something was off.

The cute, excited, now glowing red-faced teenaged girl, the same girl he had met just a few hours ago when he saved her from some kind of weird half octopus half gorilla man had her hands wrapped in his and was looking at him like he was the first sunset she had ever seen in her life.

...wait

Before Peter could vocalize his thought, he was cut off by the blue giant, as he stood up to his full towering height and raised his arms in proud exuberance.

"Let us celebrate my friends and clansmen," his deep voice spoke in broken English that Peter assumed was for his benefit." For today my daughter and the heir to my legacy has found the man who shall be her husband!"

...huh

"Oh, I'm so happy for you Miko!" a woman with long blue hair said embracing the younger women before her, the backless white gown swaying as she walked. "There is no prouder day in a mother's life than to see the day of her child's wedding"

Huh...

"Good job Miko, you really know how to pick em." a young woman with long curly brown hair said, as she sauntered down towards them. "I hope you'll remember your friends whenever your future husband proves to be too much for you!" the brown-haired girl finished with a laugh before giving him a friendly, or far too friendly slap on his but.

An action that both shocked Peter and pleased the young woman, as she then turned towards the group of women who continued to watch the interaction on with a smile and a slight blush on her face" You ladies have to cop a feel, the man has an ass like a god!"

...thank you?

"I can't believe it, my little sister married before me. Such a disgrace I am." another woman said with a laugh as she wrapped Miko into a warm embrace, as the Small man in ninja garb continued to cry while waving a surprisingly elaborate banner with a stylized drawing of both he and Miko embracing one another, with the words true love written in both English and Japanese, all around the room.

...how did he make that so quickly?

"He is certainly a FINE specimen." a buxom young woman with short green hair said as she stared at Peters still exposed torso as unsubtly as a person could do. "perhaps it would be best for the husband of the future Miroku Clan leader to "Spar" with all its members before Miko can claim him for herself."

Wait for what?

"Now, now, give the boy some room. I can't have my future son in law be devoured like this before the wedding ceremony!." the massive blue man said with a laugh, his voice booming enough to make peters knees begin to buckle, or was it just because he couldn't seem to be able to breathe properly from the anxiety attack he was in the middle of.

...no it was both.

"But now son," the blue man said wrapping his massive arm around peters shoulder and turning him around to face everyone present in the crowded room.

...why was every woman dressed like that!?

"Why don't you introduce yourself to your fiancés family!"

Peter looked upon the faces of the dozens and dozens of Mikos family and friends, most of whom he noticed were women and who were all staring at him like he was a piece of meat on display, or like he was one of those triple chocolate fudge cakes Aunt May would buy from that one bakery on fourth street.

He looked to the girl who had somehow become his fiancé after knowing him for less than a day, taking in the warm smile on her face and sparkling eyes radiating pure happiness and sweetness., so sweet in fact Peter feared he would get cavities if he looked at her any longer then he did. He turned back to the people surrounding him as they brought in dozens of dishes of exotic food and drink to celebrate and said the only words he could manage to find.

"...what just happened?"

 **~To Be Continued~**


	8. Chapter 7

**THE FOLLOWING IS A FAN BASED PARODY.**

 **I OWN NOTHING ABOUT EITHER OF THESE PROPERTIES.**

 **THEY ARE BOTH OWNED BY THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.**

 **PLEASE SUPPORT THE OFFICIAL RELEASE.**

* * *

-Flashback: 48 hours before the battle of Feoh-

The silk palace was one of, if not the finest brothels in the city of Feoh, Filled with the finest whores from all over the known world. A literal banquet of beautiful women who, for a man who could pay the right price, would do anything a man could desire.

And despite the soft feel of velvet on his skin and sent of perfume filling the air, the only thing on Gregson's mind was the feeling of the headache building behind his eyes. He knew that if he gave it half a chance he would soon feel as if he had a raging thunderstorm between his ears.

Sometimes, when he was too deep into his cups, his headaches would become so painful it hurt too much to even weep. Then all he could do was rest in his bed in a darkened room with a damp cloth over his eyes and curse whatever gods were there for cursing him in such a cruel way. But he had far more important duties to uphold this evening to put much care into whatever pain he found himself in.

Speaking of which...

He eyed the tables of food and wine in front of him. The heavy coin purse in his pocket not only gave him the woman of his choice for the evening but also covered a lavish buffet of salted meats and cheeses, dried fruits and pastries and enough wine to drown a small child. Even when the city found itself in the middle of a food shortage from the war, a man with enough gold in his pocket could enjoy the best life had to offer.

He paused as he made sure he was alone, knowing full well of his less savory eating habits.

Fuck it. He thought as he sat down and reached across the table and picked up a half-filled goblet.

He downed the cup in a single swig. Ah, that hits the spot. Vintage from the southern vineyards if he was any judge. Gregson refilled the goblet, happy that the burning behind his head slowly but surely evaporating away. He felt the effects almost instantly. He felt light-headed and numb. A spreading feeling of contentment took hold. The building pain in his head was soon replaced by a feeling of excitement for what was to come. He felt heroic, having done his duty to his king and to the cause of vaults empire, why shouldn't he allow himself a little treat?

He shook his head at his momentary stupidity. The perils of drinking on an empty stomach he supposed. He spied the table in front of him, eyeing the fruits and dried meats and cheeses the brothel supplied to its patrons, pulling an empty plate towards him and filling it with food.

It would be Pointless to let all this go to waste, wouldn't it?

He stuffed a wedge of cheese into his mouth before he had even sat down, not even bothering to chew before taking a bite of smoked sausage. With each bite of food he took into his mouth he could almost feel his once-powerful build turn to soft flab. He had been a great warrior once, a veteran of a dozen engagements who was as deadly with a sword as he was with an ax. But now he seemed to be a shadow of his former self. He had served proudly with the Kuroinu before as well as after Vault had declared himself king. But all that changed one day when a member of the Feoh militia crushed the back of his helmet with a single swing of his mace.

After all the men he had killed and dire situations he had survived, it had been a boy, barely old enough to have his first hairs on his chin, wearing armor that didn't fit him properly, to be the one to end his fighting career.

"Everyone gave him up for dead," he had heard later. Unconscious and un-moving as he was, the only thing that showed he still had life was the uneven breath that escaped his mouth for two days and two nights. But while he lived, his fighting days were done, even the slightest blow to his head was enough to reduce him to tears from the searing pain. He was sent to Feoh partially to escape Vaults poisonous disdain as well as the searing anger he held for any man too week for battle.

After that, Gregson thought, his luck had finally begun to grow in his favor. A cushy position in the high leadership of the city watch granted by Lord Beasly insured that he was far away from anything close to resembling actual combat, all the while having enough men under his command to supply him with enough wine to keep his skull from splitting in two and enough money to keep him satiated with as much food and whores as he could manage. All he had to do was to be Beasley's middle man in certain financial matters in regards to Beasley's other agents, keeping the elder statesman's hand clean in the process.

Being the go-between for the rich and powerful nobleman and his agents, Gregson thought to himself as he fingered a gold coin in his hand, was far more lucrative and satisfying than all those years he spends marching and fighting on the front lines.

But work seemed to be the furthest thing from his mind as the moment as he waited for his guest to arrive in his rented chambers, a guest whose time and experience he was paying top coin for despite her taking her sweet time in arriving.

The sound of the large oak door sliding open took him out of his thoughts. Gregson turned his head and stood, spilling his wine onto the floor in the action as he waited for his purchase for the evening to enter the room.

Instead of the deep brown skin and short-cropped hair of the southern island girl he had chosen to spend his night with, the form belonged to a much taller and much older woman. A woman with the blonde hair and violet eyes of the Feoh royal family staring at him with barely contained contempt.

A woman whose very presence caused his body to chill to the bone.

"and why am I not surprised." The princess knight said, her tone filled with disgust whether as the sight of a traitor in front of her or at the mess Gregsons enthusiastic eating and drinking had caused." to find a man like yourself in a place as vile as this."

Gregson stared blankly at the woman, as still like a newborn doe in the sights of an experienced hunter. He had been warned of this, told on a near-daily basis that he needed to stay out of sights of the king's daughter or anyone that was a member of her entourage or else his life would be forfeited.

His eyes drifted to the dagger on the table.

"I wouldn't do something so foolish if I were you." The princess said as she fingered the pommel of her sword, staring at the man in front of her with a contemptuous stare. "We both know how this would end if you did."

He was bigger than her, taller by almost a foot and heavier by over a hundred pounds, and despite the extra weight around his middle, he knew he was far stronger than the petit woman. If he was quick enough and caught her off guard before she could connect a blow, he still had a chance to escape. He moved as fast as his extra bulk could allow, grabbing the knife on the table and taking aim at the princess knight intending to end the woman's life. Before he could take a single step however, he was thrown aloft by a tornado that had suddenly appeared within the room.

He landed with a thud, his skull feeling like a shattered mirror from the impact. His teeth clenched, so hard he thought he would grind at least one of his teeth into dust as he bites back a sob. His vision was blurry, but he could still make a vague shape hovering above him as tried desperately to regain himself, as the Princess knight walked closer and closer to whatever force had manhandled him.

...and the Sion of the royal family was not look happy about it.

"I thought I told you to stay outside the room until I gave you the signal!" The princess knight shouted, walking quickly towards the Tornado, which turned out to be a huge man in blue, with the confidence of a blind man about to walk off a cliff." I had this well at hand and didn't need you to interrupt me!"

Her contemptuous attitude, which but a moment ago was venomously directed at Gregson, evaporated as she stared at the man in front of her. The huge man turned to her, his face lacking the annoyance of his companion.

"He had a knife," He said in a tone of voice that sounded like he tried to convince someone the sky was blue, directing to the blade now out of arms reach of the weeping man below him.

"That little thing?" She said gesturing to the dagger on the floor," This is hardly enough to peel the skin off an orange let alone enough to threaten the life of a trained knight especially when wielded by the fool of a man."

The tall man shrugged, looking between her and the weeping man in the fetal position before him.

"You know most people would thank someone from stopping a man going at them with a dagger," he said with a shake of his head. He turned to face the princess knight and for a moment Gregson thought to make a mad rush to the dagger, before the man's massive boot impacted his hand, crushing the digits before they could so much as twitch in the knifes direction.

" I'll have you know that I've shed my fair share of blood on the battlefield long before I met you, and if my life was to meet its end by this," the blonde said as she looked at the downed man with disdain, wrinkling her nose in disgust at the sight of fresh wine stains on his tunic and the small chunks of cheese hidden in his beard. "Man", then I wouldn't deserve the title of a knight in the first place."

The man looked at her and then back down at him, his face breaking into a smile that put his companion at ease, before raising his arms in mock surrender. "All right, you got me. You're right."

The easiness in which the two spoke to one another was off-putting. Alicia Arcturus was a haughty and arrogant bitch made even more insufferable by being so politically powerful, watching any person let alone a fellow man defer to her of all people was disgusting, and if Gregson was honest with himself, made him far more uncomfortable then the pain of having his hand so easily and violently broken.

"Of course, I'm right," the woman said walking closer into the room and stopping until she was standing next to her companion, "The quicker you learn to accept the fact that I'm usually right things of these matters, the more use you'll be to this investigation."

That insufferable smirk she wore on her face as she looked up at the man was infuriating, but it was the lingering closeness of the admittedly lovely woman to the man next to her that caused Gregson to see red. Women like her had always looked down on men like him, Hard and true men who knew the harshness of life and who had little time for feminine games. No, they much more preferred men like this, pretty and soft men who needed to resort to trickery and stealth to best true men like him!

Why if he had his trusty mace and helm with him...

The large man shrugged his shoulders and lifted him off the ground, as easily as one would pick up a stone to skip off a body of water, and laid him back onto the previously overturned chair. The searing pain in his head subsided for a moment, enough to marvel at the man's inhuman strength, and how easily and effortlessly he applied it.

...Perhaps he would need more than his trusty mace and helm...

So taken aback was he that at first, he didn't notice the purple gemstone in the princess knights' hand. The very same gemstone that Gregson was sure he had used as payment for the night's entertainment. The very same gemstone Lord Beasly had awarded him for his services only a day prior...

...oh

...oh no

"Tell me," Alicia said leering down at the man, towering over the man despite being a foot shorter than him." How does a city guard with a few months in his station afford the most expensive brothel in the city?"

Gregson could almost hear Vaults voice, his booming voice cutting through the fog of burning pain he felt. _Every man is a king and should never take the orders of a woman no matter who she is._ And despite his stupor, Gregson felt his resolve strengthen.

This stupid girl thought she was better than him? He was a warrior who had put his life on the line to ensure peace while she and her goddess played politics and she thought she could speak to him like that?

He would resist, he would to throw the unsaid and implied threats against him back at the whore in front of him with a biting remark, and if given one last chance he especially would grab his discarded dagger and bury it into Alicia's heart before...

The thought died in his head when the huge man, the same huge man who had utterly manhandled him came into view, directly behind the woman interrogating him. He stood straight with his arms folded across his chest, almost daring him to attempt whatever he was thinking about attempting. Gregson met his vision for a moment, seeing the unyielding steel in his gaze, before every single thought he had about resisting and fighting back evaporated into thin air.

His shoulders slumped and his eyes fell to the ground in utter defeat, and under the watchful eyes and sharp tones of his interrogators, Gregson told them everything he knew.

* * *

-Kin POV Present day-

Kin stood silently as he watched several men carry the beaten and bloodied body of the messenger out of the thick oak doors of Vaults private chambers.

Well...It certainly seems that Vault has heard the news.

Kin knew his lord would react harshly whenever the reports of the failure of Beasly reached him, but he didn't expect him to react quite like this. He had planned on arriving at the meeting of Vaults most trusted lieutenants early to try and calm the brewing storm that was Vaults anger.

But, either he did not move with enough haste or the scout had arrived earlier than expected, but he was too late, and in his anger Vault beaten the poor unfortunate man nearly to death for being the bearer of bad news, leaving him in a pool of his blood as he continued to rage. The other men in the room stood still, not daring to move from their spots and potentially angering their leader further. The principal commanders of the Kuroinu host along with Kin himself stood at attention, like an audience watching a stage play go horribly wrong.

Kin walked towards the larger man as he raged, and cursed the men around him who remained still, feeling like a lamb being led to its slaughter.

"My King" Kin spoke, his usual even tone and monotone voice even more so now as to not cause his king to lash out further. Vaults body shook as he turned towards Kin, his breathing ragged and his eyes bloodshot, giving him the appearance of a man lost in his senses and not the experienced military commander that he was.

"How?" Vault demanded, his voice enough of a growl to make Kin believe even for a moment that his Lord was not fully a man but something far more savage.

"How could this have happened?" he repeated with his hands clenched and back rigid, like a caged lion preparing to tear apart who ever dared to enter its domain.

 _How indeed._ For a moment Kin found himself lost within his thoughts, trying to think of ways in how their plans could not only fail but fail as badly as they had done. Kin stood still, not knowing what to do next, what could he even do? It was rare for the battle-hardened military man to lose his cool like this but it was not unjustified in the slightest.

The invasion of Feoh had failed.

Hundreds, if not thousands of their men met their deaths in the battle or have been captured in its aftermath. The members of Lord Beasley's inner circle, members of noble class who had conspired in the Kuroinus favor were found out and publicly tried for treason and sent for execution.

And Vault was made a fool of in front of the entire continent.

Whenever Vault got like this it was best not to get in between him and the cause of his anger. But here he was, so close to the man that he could see the pupils of his dark eyes dilated. And while most men would falter at the sight of this beast of a man directing his anger towards him, Kin prided himself on not being like "most men".

"It seems we had underestimated the leadership prowess of Alicia Arcturus, she was not the foolish child we were made to believe by our friend the prime minister."

Vaults eyes regained some of their usual clarity at the mention of the former Prime minister of Feoh. The man who had fed them the information that should have made their plans against the city-state a foregone conclusion. If any man was to face the brunt of the fault it should have been him, Kin thought to himself bitterly.

"Of course," Vault said his voice calmer then it was a moment before, but Kin would be foolish to believe the storm had fully passed. "We followed Beasley's advice and his schemes far too much and it led to our downfall."

He mumbled something under his breath, so soft and quiet, kin didn't hear it despite being so close to the man. But like a hurricane that appeared without warning, he erupted in rage a moment later.

"Prepare the men, we march on Feoh in force." He shouted to his officers behind him.

The look of shock must have been evident on Kins face because Vault took it upon himself to answer the unspoken question.

"Don't you see? The invasion failed because we relied far too much on bribery and trickery. We took the word of a man who had never once fought in a single battle let alone won a war or sacked a city." he started gesturing to the continental map that dominated the large ornate table in front of him, "Our original plan of marching on the city on mass would have succeeded, that I have no doubt. It's my fault for allowing Beasley's honeyed words to convince me otherwise."

Vault turned to him and smiled, his eyes wolf-like as he stared at the smaller spell caster. "But we will take the city of Feoh, mark my words and we will do by our hands, and by our boot heels, and by the edge of our swords"

The men around him seemed to agree as they seemed to grow in resolve and confidence as Vault spoke, Kin himself felt his pulse quicken despite his better judgment.

"A foolish decision my lord." a voice broke through the chorus, as dry and cutting as sandpaper against Kins ears.

He hadn't made a sound as he entered into the room, even now Kin felt himself strain trying to hear the mans footsteps on the stone floor as he made his way towards the center of the room. The man was tall, equal to that of Vault but lacked the kings' legendary build, being far leaner than many of the more senior members of the Kuroinu, but had a malicious intelligence that was proved to be as powerful as any tool of war, and a streak of cruelty that cut deeper then any sword.

Kin found him as intimidating as much as he found him fascinating.

The tall man walked past kin, his lean form towering over the wizard as he walked closer and closer to Vault, stopping until the two men were eye to eye with one another, looking like two bulls posturing to one another to see which one of them would rule the pasture.

"You want me to ignore this?" Vault spat, his voice increasing in volume." Ignore those whores in Ken that are laughing at us as we speak. Ignore the men in my army that are questioning my leadership? You want me to move on and pretend this didn't happen? Is that what you want me to do?!"

"What I want isn't important." Shamuhaza said, his tone emotionless despite the danger he found himself in." We're at war. And Wars are not won by foolishly lashing out like a mad dog."

"A mad dog? A mindless killer?" Vault said with a mocking laugh, "Is that what you think of me? Of our movement?"

"We're killers my lord. We kill people. Should I look up the term in my thesaurus? I assure you we fit the definition."

They continued for what seemed like hours, mentally jousting for dominance. Kin knew that Vault was an astounding orator, able to control an army of trained killers and warriors by his sheer will and strength of character, but even he found it a daunting task to convince Shamuhaza of what he felt needed to be done.

"Dammit, Shamuhaza," Vault said, louder then he intended to say," Why can you not see that we cannot be viewed as weak. We need our strength to be known to all the land to hope to win the hearts and minds of the men of this country."

"and we will, but we must be smart about our next move," Shamuhaza said, his voice not changing the slightest since he entered. "We cannot be allowed to weaken our forces more than they already have."

"The Weak must know who the strong of this country is." Vault said, his voice a barely contained growl as his anger slowly came to its boiling point, and that was dangerous for anyone who had the unfortunate position of being in close proximity of him at the moment. Whether Shamuhaza didn't know or simply didn't care, Kin couldn't be sure. The bandaged man said nothing, only turning his head slightly to gauge the reaction of the men around him, before turning his attention back to Vault.

"If I hadn't come to you and simply allowed you to go about your plan what would you have done?"

"I would have burned the city to the ground. I would slaughter every single person who gets between me and those who dared to stand against my vision." Vault turned towards him, the light from the torches, blurring his features, but from the tone of voice he spoke with, it was clear to all just how serious he was as he spoke." I would burn the surrounding forest to ash and slay any animals who called it home. I would salt the soil of their farms so no living thing can grow in their fields for a hundred years. I would slit the thought of every man in front of their families, I would have every woman raped by my armies until they become so disfigured no man would look at them. Their children would spend the rest of their natural lives in chains until their minds are broken and they know nothing of life but servitude and misery." Vault seethed, his breath hot with rage, and his eyes filled with malice. "Then and only then would their debts be paid to me."

The bandaged man didn't say a word, content with his thoughts for a moment more as he stared at the stunned faces of the men around him like they were just another insect in his morbid collection.

"And on that day, we will use the stones from their walls and from their keeps to build a monument to you and your triumphs." Shamuhaza said, his voice as deep and foreboding as Vaults, "but until then we cannot chase after petty revenge when we have a war to wage and a continent to conquer."

Vault stared at the man for a moment, and for several tense seconds, Kin believed the two would come to blows.

"Leave, All of you," Vault spoke again, teeth grinding and eyes never leaving Shamuhaza gaze.

Kin willed himself to turn around and made for the door. But found his movements cut off when vaults spoke again, his voice barely above a whisper. "Not you Kin, you remain. You too Shamuhaza. the rest of you, out."

The other men rushed out the door, the sound of their heavy steps drifting away leaving the three men alone. Vault smiled sweetly, an image that made Kins skin crawl from the sight.

"Well when you put it like that," He stared unblinking at the bandaged man's impassive face, with a look in his eyes that looked as if he imagined driving a dagger into his lieutenant's eye. "What would you have me do?"

* * *

-Steve POV-

Steve deflected the blade aimed at his neck, parrying the attack to his side, before thrusting his own blade forward, pushing his opponent further back from where she started.

Alicia Arcturus was on the defensive, her usual aggressive style doing little to her much larger and stronger opponent. Their blades flashed out again, clashing with the sound of thunder as Alicia felt both her hands tremble from the effort. Steve had to respect that. Even when pushed to her physical limits, Alicia still refused to give in. But even so, that iron will of hers was not enough to win.

A flick of his wrist was enough to throw Alicia's weight off balance, the blade in her hands embedding itself into the ground of the training field. Before she could do anything to retaliate she found the point of a sword pointed at her throat. A moment passed Before Alicia Arcturus, proud princess knight of Feoh let out a deep frustrated and resigned sigh.

"I yield."

There was clapping all around them which seemed to break them out of the trance they found themselves in. The spar had been distracting, and despite kicking himself over it, he had not noticed the crowd of knights and castle servants that had been drawn to them mid practice.

"I can't believe this!" Alicia's voice broke through the noise, almost echoing off the stone walls," Three days of training and you've already bested me in swordplay. Had I not seen just how awkward you were with a blade with my own eyes I would say this is some sort of jest on me."

That was certainly true, to the immense amusement of the knight in front of him.

When Steve had first held a sword, he almost felt more like he was *Pete Reiser stepping up to the plate than some knight of the round table. The sight of Prim trying to hold in her laughter at the sight and the sound of Alicia not even bothering to hide her amusement at the sight certainly was a hit to his ego, but not something he couldn't handle.

But a few days of training was certainly enough to silence them, And while Steve thought he'd never be a master swordsman by any stretch, he felt he had learned enough to ensure he was at the very least knowledgeable in a few of the many different schools of swordsmanship used by the warriors of Estoia.

Despite whatever the spectators who had seen him train would say amongst themselves.

"Well." Steve started as he placed the dull blade of the training sword back against the stone wall." I did have the best instructor in all of Feoh teaching me."

"Ha" Alicia gave a dry laugh, but if the look in her eyes were any indication, the remark meant allot to her." Do not use flattery on me, Rogers, you are simply less of a liability now then you were a fortnight ago. Nothing more and nothing less."

"Less of a liability huh." Steve quoted in a tone of voice that sounded far more like Alicia then she would admit out loud. "You certainly know how to instill faith in your students."

"If you wished to have your ego stroked, I would have had Vera instruct you," she said as she turned to follow him, the pout on her face melting back into its mask of indifference. "Goddess knows your ego has grown enough since the battles end."

Steve chuckled to himself. Alicia certainly had a unique way of speaking to people, but he had a feeling that she warming up to him, at least he hoped so anyway. According to Tony, he was always too much of a boy scout when it came to things like this.

His thoughts were interrupted however when Alicia herself ran up to him clutching an item to her side. An item Steve almost shuddered at the sight of.

"You forgot your sword," Alicia said, pressing a sheathed blade into Steve's chest, and despite himself, he almost felt like cringing at the contact.

It was a lot shorter than he imagined a sword to be when he was a kid, a little longer than a yardstick and made out of the finest castle forged steel Alicias family had to offer and sharpened to a razor edge. The gilded handle looked similar to Alicia's but upon closer inspection, Steve noticed several slight differences, including the image of a single white star on both the center of the swords guard as well as its pommel.

It was more than a simple sword, it was a work of art. Steve was more than a little embarrassed that someone had put so much effort into such a beautiful piece of weaponry for him and his, in his opinion, lackluster sword skills.

"You cannot think to leave without your sword." She admonished, "You have done a great service to this city and its people, and this whole continent should know of it."

 _Ah yes,_ Steve thought to himself with a slight grimace, _my knighthood_

The ceremony was filled with the pomp and circumstances of every medal ceremony he had ever been a part of as both a soldier and as an avenger, which meant he wanted to be anywhere but where he was at that particular moment on principle alone.

The fighting may have stopped for the moment, but there was still far more to do to help the city and its citizens then stand around and hear about how great he was. Fires needed to be put out, injuries needed to be checked on and tended to, and bands of enemies in hiding needed to be rounded up and put in chains.

In fact, the only thing keeping him from refusing to kneel and simply walking away were the cheers of the men and women around him. Civilians exiting their homes and hiding places to join the chants where enough to give him pause, but it was a small boy, barely five years old and whose face looked to be caked in dirt and dried tears being held atop the shoulders of his equally disheveled looking mother. Just to have a chance to see him.

That did it. That broke him.

Steve could almost feel the smirk on Bucky's lips or the boisterous laughter coming from Thor or the toothy smile Wanda would have given him if they were to have seen him. Captain America, Cowed in fear of disappointing a child. He always seemed to have a weakness when it came to kids. His one true flaw, Natasha would always say with that all-knowing look on her face.

"You are no longer a simple man with but a shield, you are a knight of Feoh and this sword," Alica said as she raised up the blade. "Is a symbol of that position. You have joined the long and storied lineage and should be treated as such."

Steve stared at the blade for a moment, a part of him wondering just how he managed to get into this position in the first place, before strapping the hilt to his hip and sheathing the sword, not missing the small and genuine smile on his companion's face as he did so.

"Are you fully prepared for the journey?" Alicia asked as they walked amongst the busy citizens working to fix the damage of their homes. "The summer rains can make traveling most difficult for Prim's wheelhouse, I would hate for you to lose a day on the road because of a broken axel."

"I think we'll manage," Steve said with a small smile, not even looking at her as they walked past dozens of Feoh citizens beginning the long effort of rebuilding their city.

"Be sure to ensure at least an hour of leisure time a day for Prim, she has a habit of growing restless if she is forced to stay in her carriage all day."

"Vera mentioned something similar to me this morning." the veteran swordswoman, despite nursing a broken arm had seen it as her duty to explain the young pinkettes traveling habits.

"You're expected to arrive within the week to Ken, Her Highness is not to be kept waiting."

"So how do you recommend approaching the situation?" Steve asked as he nodded to a saluting guard. "I mean it's not every day you have a one on one meeting with a reincarnated goddess is it?"

"Your manners" she paused for a moment, her face contorting looking for the right words "are... acceptable in most instances, you should have nothing to worry about."

Well... that was something" Steve thought to himself. That might have been the first time since he had met the woman next to him, that she had given him a semblance of a compliment. Sure it was nestled in the same emotionless tone she used when she spoke to her soldiers, and she still didn't look him in the eyes as much as it was considered "normal" but hey it was certainly better than the frank coldness she referred to him the first time they had met one another.

"You know, strange as it sounds but that might have been the nicest thing you have ever said to me."

"Perhaps that says more about your character then it does about mine," she said with a smirk, as they passed a group of city guardsmen in the middle of their patrol. Steve noticed the swell of pride in their chest as they saluted to them as they passed as well as the brief moment of Alicia looking at him out of the corner of her eye with a look Steve couldn't quite decipher.

Gratitude? Respect? The feelings were both there in equal measure but still didn't fully describe the look. Maybe if Natasha was here with him, she'd be able to set him straight. Or she'd just laugh at him. That seemed just as likely as any other situation.

"You treat her Grace, with the respect someone in her station deserves and you should be fine." Alicia's face turned sour for a moment before she willed it into the mask she wore when dealing with members of the noble class of her city, "It is Queen Olga and her ilk that you should be worried about."

Steve mentally noted the advice. Truth be told he wasn't exactly an expert in how to act around a goddess, late-night drinking and card games with Thor and the warriors three notwithstanding, but he liked to think he had decent enough manners. His mother certainly tried her best to drill that much into him at a young age.

"SIR STEVEN!" a shout arose over the crowd as Lady Prim spotted his arrival from atop her horse, a small pure white mare that seemed just as gentle as her rider." We were worried Alicia would keep you all day."

Steve smiled as the pinkette jumped off her mare and ran towards the two, the riding outfit she wore just as oink and frilly as the usual gown she wore.

"Nothing to worry," Steve answered as the girl latched herself to his side. "Your cousin just had some important things for me to take care of before we go. No need to take it out on her for my sake your highness."

"Of course." Alicia said as she tried to maintain her "knight of Feoh" facade in front of her subordinates" Now that Sir Steven is a knight in service of Feoh he must uphold his new responsibilities"

The response, to Steves surprise, was met with laughter, as every man and woman who made up their rather large travel party chuckled together at the unspoken joke

"Ah yes." Vera taunted with a smug grin while raising her index fingers. "Upholding his responsibilities"

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Alicia countered, sounding more like an older sibling shouting at a younger sister than someone who held actual anger. "Sir Steven has many responsibilities to uphold before beginning his travels,"

"Oh, of course, Lady Alicia," Vera said, her tone even and emotionless despite the smirk on her face as she said it. "Forgive me for not understanding the importance of breaking a morning fast alone in a garden with one another and spending the afternoon in private training and wandering the city streets together."

"If you wish to imply something Vera, "Alicia said, narrowing her eyes at her friend, "Then why don't you simply say what you think."

Vera, with a quirked eyebrow and a half-formed smile on her face, which seemed to be all the response she needed to get her thoughts across to both Alicia and their companions if their reactions were any indications.

"It isn't like that!" Alicia huffed, far louder than before as she turned away from Vera, not even wanting to look at the female knight, which only seemed to make the knight that much smugger, "and I advise against you spreading such scandalous rumors about..."

She stopped for a moment when she realized he was watching the scene unfold, which did nothing to settle her down in the slightest. It seemed to have the opposite effect if he was honest.

"At least try and be a bit subtle about it Milady..." Vera said, her voice shocking her commander out of whatever trance she was in, resulting in the argument from heating up once again.

With each passing comment at Alicias expense and heated response directed back, the laughter of those around him only seemed to increase, and Alicia seemed to grow far more embarrassed, which only seemed to confuse him more and more. He looked towards Prim, hoping that she could explain what was happening to him, or at the very least see if she was just as lost as he was. Her wide eyes and blushed face made it clear that while she understood what was meant by Vera, she didn't find it as funny as her companions. She seemed to go even redder in the face when she noticed him looking at her, so red she raised her hands in a vain attempt to cover her flushed cheeks.

Which only seemed to cause more laughter out of the travel party.

The pair continued to bicker back and forth with one another, with the experienced enthusiasm Steve had only ever seen in small children arguing on the playground, but Steve paid them little mind as he readied his horse. They had a schedule to keep after all.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading and hopefully enjoying. please leave a review telling me what you like, or if you have suggestions to make the story better, or if you just tell me how much of a piece of shit I am. Variety is the spice of life after all.**

 **For those curious, "Pistol" Pete Reiser was a professional baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Steve mentioned going to a dodgers game with Bucky at the end of the first Captain America film. Where this player hit an inside the park homerun winning the game. So I assumed he was a fan.**


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